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{
    "id": 1525522,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525522/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 188,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13217,
        "legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
        "slug": "cherarkey-k-samson"
    },
    "content": "We should make agriculture attractive by introducing incentives and safeguards. The County Government of Bomet through the agricultural department, the Kenya Seed Company Limited and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development must compensate the farmers of Bomet who were affected by the maize lethal necrosis disease. That will be one of the safeguards. There is drought and the National Drought Management Authority should ensure that the livestock insurance is also given in Kajiado and other counties such as Samburu that are affected it. The farmers should also be compensated. That is how we can make agriculture attractive. I heard some people tell the youth in a graduation ceremony, in my County, that they should now go and create employment because they have graduated. I remember that when we graduated, we could not even get employment yet we were here asking young people to create employment. The only way to create and channel the energy of young people, including the Gen-Z, is by making agriculture attractive. The other issue is contract farming. I am happy that the Government has registered more than 4,000,000 farmers in Kenya. I want to thank President William Samoei Ruto because us, the maize farmers, have subsidized fertilizers in our stores as we prepare to start planting. We are now buying the fertiliser at Kshs2,500 and we will use it to plant maize. This applies to all farmers. In Nandi County, we have one selling point in Mosop Constituency run by the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). The other one is Chesumei in Mosoriot Town, which is at my doorstep and there is one is Lessos NCPB. However, the rest of Nandi such as lower Nandi, the northern Nandi that is towards Kericho, Kakamega and Vihiga do not have access to NCPB. My County, under Governor Sang maladministration, is on autopilot because he is not seeking for any other term. I request that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development assists us with last mile distribution of fertilizer. A farmer from the border of Kericho and Nandi have to come all the way to Maraba, which is about 50 minutes away, to pick fertilizer. They use boda boda or Probox. I want to ask the President from this Floor of the House to direct the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to do last mile distribution of fertilizer to farmers. The same case applies to Uasin Gishu. A farmer has to travel all the way from Kabongwa or Kamung’ei, where I went to after we interred our colleague in Baringo, to Selia to get fertilizer, yet the road network is pathetic. My governor has left everything on autopilot and is busy with bad governance. I appeal to other governors to do last-mile distribution of fertilizer to the farmers. I want to thank the Kenya Seed Company Limited (KSC) for bringing prices down. They were selling two kilogrammes of maize at Kshs700. I am happy with the directive of Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development through the guidance of the President, that we are now buying two kilogrammes of maize seeds at between Kshs400 to Kshs420 which will allow farmers to plant during this season. I appeal to KSC, we are at the beginning March, if they know that we are expecting rains, they should prepare themselves by propagating enough seeds to allow us 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."
}