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{
    "id": 1505665,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1505665/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 281,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "We need to innovate to ensure that this board that has been proposed in this Bill drives innovation and the adoption of technology. After the repeal of the statutes that abolished slavery in the USA, they still continued growing cotton. However, they decided to turn to technology to replace the slaves and forced labor. Therefore, I support the establishment of the Cotton Board. We, however, need to be very clear and tell the country what our strategy and thought process is with regards to agriculture. This country has evolved our strategies and thoughts around agriculture. When the late President, His Exellency Mwai Kibaki took over, (Prof.) Peter Anyang’ Nyong'o and his team came up with the strategy for the revitalization of agriculture that led to the consolidation of the various agricultural boards into one super agency called the Agriculture Food and Fisheries Authority (AFFA). Over the years, we have been in a process of unbundling that AFFA because we now have a Fisheries Authority, a Tea Authority, a Dairy Board and we now have a Livestock Authority in the cards. We are now talking of a Cotton Authority and a Sugar Board. Therefore, we need to be very clear and deliberate when it comes to policy and industrial strategy because it is the thought process that takes advantage of a nation's comparative advantage so as to elevate it in the global market. Our comparative advantage lies around agriculture because of the favorable weather. It also lies around logistics because of our location. Those are the things that we must exploit. Right now, with the election of Donald Trump as the President of the USA, we are not sure of the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) arrangement. We know that most of the companies in Athi River and the Export Processing Zones (EPZs) thrive on the AGOA arrangement. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I know this is outside this Bill, but those of us in the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, we now need to bring in the Executive, so that they pronounce themselves on the country's direction and strategic thinking when it comes to that sector. From the days of Prof. Anyang’-Nyong’o, when we had the strategy for revitalizing agriculture, there have been changes. Along the way, in 2010, we decided to devolve agriculture. That was a very significant policy direction for the agricultural sector. The agriculture policy was published in 2016. I am not sure whether that policy has been adopted by the Cabinet. If a nation whose economy is based on agriculture, which provides the highest number of employment opportunities, does not have a sessional paper or a policy statement that has been adopted by the Cabinet, it means that we are flying on autopilot. These are things that we will push the Government and the Executive to put in place. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, within my remaining one or two minutes, let us ensure that even as we provide the role of county governments in this legislation, that county governments then do not become a hindrance. Let them be facilitators. Sometimes county governments can be a problem by introducing additional tariffs, additional cess and registration requirements. I have seen somewhere in the Report that even where the county government has the responsibility of registering cotton farmers, there will be no cost to it. However, let us also think about the distribution of seed and input to those farmers. It should never be a centralized approach. Perhaps, we need to The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}