Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1472517,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1472517/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 213,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nyeri Town, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Duncan Mathenge",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Hon. Temporary Speaker, I stand to support this Motion. Today is a great day for coffee farmers as this Bill is being debated in this House. This Bill will no longer be used on vehicle roofs by politicians trying to drive a certain narrative in the Mount Kenya Region, where coffee is mainly grown. There have been unfair and false accusations that the Leader of the Majority Party in this House has forcefully frustrated a Bill that had not even reached the Floor. Senior Members, who have been here long enough, know the parliamentary procedures and how Bills are processed. Today, I am a happy Member of this House, as well as the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Coffee Caucus. The regeneration of the Kenyan coffee industry comes at a time of great challenges. The land used for coffee growing has shrunk. The production per tree has also gone down. Farmers have been pushed to the periphery of the coffee trade. This Bill aims to bring back framers as major players in the coffee trade. The reestablishment of the Coffee Research Institute (CRI) is particularly timely, given that farmers are grappling with the impact of climate change, new diseases, pesticides, and dwindling production. The need to regenerate the ageing coffee bushes could not have come at a better time. Therefore, I laud this Bill for bringing back the Coffee Research Institute. However, I still believe that we should allocate funding to this institute in the same manner we fund research at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO). Coffee is a key cash crop and a significant foreign exchange earner in this country. The coffee farmer must also be supported by the exchequer in reviving the research institute, which has been largely dormant for over 10 years. Several regulators are involved in the coffee value chain, including county governments, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), and the Coffee Board. It is important to ensure simplicity, clarity, and efficiency in resolving issues raised by traders or the Authority in the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, which is regulated by the CMA. It is unacceptable that in this era of accountability and transparency for the CMA to raise a question to be responded to by a The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}