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{
    "id": 1474001,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1474001/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 207,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mwingi North, WDM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Eng.) Paul Nzengu",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I take this opportunity to thank the Members who have contributed to the debate on the Bill. I want to particularly thank the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, who took a lot of time to go through the Bill and elaborate its advantages. I know that most Members did not get the opportunity to interact with the Bill, but it is a nice piece of legislation contrary to the notion that farmers will have to register or pay to farm mung beans. That is not true. We want farmers to be registered at the county level so that when the county is planning for resources to support agriculture, the county knows exactly how many farmers will be involved and what kind of yields to expect. This is so that we set targets even as we procure farm inputs and provide support to the farmers. We do not just leave it open to whoever wants to do farming and does not register. We may experience a lot of pressure on the actual support that we are envisaging in this Bill. Hon. Temporary Speaker, some cartels have misled Kenyans into thinking that one has to pay to grow mung beans or ndengu . We are trying to remove the middlemen who operate between farmers and the market. For instance, during the planting season, you find that the price of ndengu is about Ksh200 per kilogram. But when the farmers harvest, some cartels force the price down to about Ksh40 or even Ksh30 per kilogram. We are trying to protect the farmers from exploitation by middlemen. We are proposing that farmers form co-operatives. The county governments will now be required by law to do marketing so that we do not leave farmers on their own, just like is done for any other cash crops. I wanted to clarify that some people have misunderstood the Bill. There is also a claim that the Bill has not been subjected to public participation. I did not see the report from the Committee. Maybe, it will go back to the Committee, which will then conduct the public participation that some Members have voiced concern about. With those remarks, I beg to reply."
}