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{
    "id": 1472548,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1472548/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 244,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kwanza, FORD - K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Ferdinand Wanyonyi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " This is frustrating and confusing. I was making a contribution that, coffee was referred to as black gold because it was black gold at that time. As mentioned by the proposer of this Bill, I think it was mentioned by my Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, Kenya was second to Ethiopia in terms of exportation and growing of coffee because we actually referred to it as black gold in our own area. Looking at the requirements for coffee growing, we have very good soil, particularly in the slopes of Mount Kenya and Mount Elgon, where I come from. We were actually planting a lot of coffee because of the soil and the climatic condition at that time. So, the question here is that the challenges that have been mentioned are our own creation, and our own failure. We should look at it very critically. I have been talking to my Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock. As we proceed, we want to revert coffee so that it becomes black gold as was perceived that time. We were actually beating Ethiopia and Uganda. Uganda was number three and we were second to Ethiopia. Because of the topography in Ethiopia, it was growing a lot of coffee. However, we failed ourselves. We had the extension officers who were helping farmers to assist in the production of this gold. As you know, we were then exporting after processing. Today, our own failure is that we are now exporting coffee in raw form. Even small factories that used to process coffee at the time are no longer there. I want to find out exactly what happened. The Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock is here and I urge him to ask the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development how we can revive those small factories that used to process coffee before it was exported. We used to earn a lot of foreign exchange. Our country was respected as a coffee exporting country in Africa, apart from Ethiopia. Therefore, we should revitalise our research institutions and centres so that they can continue with their research on coffee. We can then get various varieties of coffee because we have the technology. People want to know which variety of coffee we are producing. If you go to some countries and ask for tea, they will ask you which tea you want. If you say you want African tea, you will get very good tea because it is exported. If you ask for African coffee out there, you will find that it is very well processed. The AFA used to conduct research on coffee. We are now removing coffee research from the AFA, so that it is on its own. We had the Coffee Board of Kenya. I do not know what went wrong with the Board. It merged with the AFA because of the marketing aspect. We have to go back and find out where the rain started beating us. 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."
}