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{
    "id": 1525566,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525566/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 232,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity. May I start by congratulating Hon. David Wakoli, the new Chairman of the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. This is one of our growing stars in the Senate and I am so proud of him. He has been an extremely useful basketball player for this Bunge. I am glad to see that his discipline and dedication has been translated to this committee as the chairperson. As a first-time Senator, he has done well and I thank the people of Bungoma County for bringing him here. Madam Temporary Speaker, this is a sad report. It is an indictment of the attitude we have had to our farmers over a long period of time. The petitioner who has brought this matter to the Senate, Mr. Kiprono Hillary, has done so because he has tried to deal with the various Government agencies for assistance and do all other things, but has failed. He has resorted to the Senate because they have been suffering from this disease for 12 years. The MLND has plagued these farmers for the last 12 years. They said that in 2011 they noticed a plague that was killing their maize crops in Longisa Division, Bomet County. They gave it a local name, Koriot to try and describe the problem because they did not know what it was. When you translate that word in their vernacular, it means plague. They could not explain what was happening. It then spread to higher altitudes of Bomet County and went further to the neighbouring counties. It has now reached the Senate after 12 years. In 2012, 90 per cent of the crop in Bomet County failed and it became very serious. They looked for help in the national and county government, but the attitude has not been supportive. They have now landed here. The problem of the maize disease is a reflection of what has happened. I am saying this because even farmers in my county, particularly the maize farmers in Bura Irrigation Scheme, have not received the kind of support they would expect from their county government. Our farmers continue to suffer and there is no proper response. Can you imagine that despite all the effort that our farmers in Bura Irrigation make do not have any form of active allocation from the county government? It is like they do not deserve to get any support from the county government. We appreciate what the national Government is doing in Tana River to support these farmers. We appreciate the visits that His Excellency the President made last Thursday to deal with the irrigation issues and availability of water for the farmers. However, while the rest of the country are celebrating that fertilizers prices have been dropped from Kshs7,000 to 2,500, KSC buy the same fertiliser for Kshs2,500 and sell it to farmers at Kshs4,700 in Tana River County in Bura, yet it is a Government agency. They give these farmers the fertilizer and then deduct from them when the harvest comes. Farmers are wondering why they are not making money. It is like some sort of a loan, which is later on deducted from the money they are supposed to pay these farmers. That is another example of lack of support for local farmers. Madam Temporary Speaker, the petitioner, Mr. Hillary, has said that they have not had support in the fight for saving their crop--- 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."
}