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{
"id": 1475512,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1475512/?format=api",
"text_counter": 293,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Saboti, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Caleb Amisi",
"speaker": null,
"content": "We amalgamated coffee, sugar, tea, pyrethrum, cashew nuts, and what have you, into one body called AFA. But you can see their independent boards are also seeking their autonomy so that they can be regulated differently. We cannot amalgamate crops that make agriculture the backbone of our economy into one body that is susceptible to cartels and mismanagement, and eventually losing out on agriculture. I come from a highly agricultural area of Trans Nzoia, and the farmers are becoming disillusioned every other day. I have a farmer friend who used to grow maize in his large tract of land. Later on, the maize was not performing well because of the cartelism. He tried to plant sugar-cane. Of course, there are also cartels in the sugar sector. He uprooted and started growing tea. He went to Napier grass, surprisingly. So, he has been shifting from one crop to another, of course, trying to make a kill out of farming unsuccessfully. He also tried coffee and found that there are also cartels there. So, there is cartelism in our agriculture across all the crops. When I see such Bills that try to regularise, I see an iota of hope that Kenyans are waking up to the reality that we cannot compete globally. Kenya is no longer a global destination for some of those crops, and we have been overtaken by other countries. Why? Basically, because they have been able to regularise their industry. They have well-registered farmers, proper database, proper linkages, well-coordinated boards, proper surveillance with also compliance to the laws and relevant policies. This one basically gives the market out there a lot of confidence in the country. Of course, the market is looking for a better regulated industry. When we look at what is happening across the borders, we see other countries are performing better in areas that we were number one. They have overtaken us. People have found new ways of farming. People are going into mechanised farming, and we are still into subsistence. It is high time we re-focused. Agriculture is still the backbone of the Republic. We cannot leave our agriculture to the global market forces because, eventually, we will be pushed out of the market in terms of agricultural products. I support the regulations of the coffee, and even the linkages with the county governments. Coffee has been there and, of course, the boards have been there. But the county governments did not envisage agriculture will be devolved and, therefore, they will be part and parcel of the legislation at the county level. Therefore, it is important to provide linkages between the national level and the county level. Basically, county governments are in close touch with the farmers. We see knee-jerk reactions to issues that affect farmers but, when we have a regularised board that is properly linked to the local structures of the county government, we will be putting some hope to the farmers. Where I come from, sugar has just become a political fodder. Every time you are home, or you want to be elected, you talk about sugar or else, you will go home because you have not talked about it. It has become political fodder and nothing much. In fact, leaders tend to leave it that way so that they can use it for politics. Coffee has been used for politics since time immemorial, and there is no solution in sight."
}