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{
"id": 1526808,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1526808/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Developmen",
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"content": "because of inconsistencies of production. The markets that we were serving in the United States (US) started looking elsewhere. Consequently, if we go into this, one of the issues that we will have to address very carefully is consistency in production, that once we introduce ourselves to a market, we must consistently supply that market. What happens is that once you break the supply, then the markets look elsewhere and it becomes very difficult to reintroduce them back to ourselves. We need to look at both growing as well as the stability in the market. However, AFA is, in fact, providing dryers, among other inputs, to try and help the pyrethrum sector and also working on the markets that we have. As I said, it is not something I was quite ready to respond to, but I agree with the attention that it deserves. On the issue of the quality of tea, again, in response to the quality which I had alluded to in the discussion that I had, tasting has got nothing to do with the quality. The tasting cannot improve the quality. What is going to improve the quality is the crop husbandry and what we do all the way from how we plant, treat the tree and how we, especially, harvest the tea. Therefore, because of what has been happening in some of those areas, as I had earlier stated, made us to ban hawking. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we have even heard about theft of tea leaves in Kericho and other areas. We have cases of people plucking tea at night and that is one of the reasons we banned hawking. Thus, when that tea comes, because you are unable to tell which tea is which, what happens is, so to speak, as the song is sung, “one apple spoils a whole bunch of apples.” If we get one or two errant traders or hawkers bringing in tea that is not good, it messes with the whole crop. We have directed the Kenya Tea Board to ensure that there is restriction in the issue of harvesting and harvesting should be done properly. This is in the interest of the leadership and the farmers in this country. If that is done, there should be no difference in terms of the quality of tea. Let us not forget that the buyer of these teas is not ourselves. Kenya is a very small market for our tea. The larger part of our tea market is overseas, and they determine the teas that they want to buy, not us. The KTDA does not determine who is going to buy the tea from Egypt. They will simply come and choose their own tea and take it. That is the market. The issue of the quality is something for us to address, both as farmers and even as a security. Currently, it is even a security issue where people are stealing tea leaves from the farms. I agree with the hon. Senator that there is some work to be done there. Nonetheless, the policy framework that we have introduced, some of which I have earlier announced today, is what is going to be the answer to some of those differences in the tea quality, East, West, North, South and particularly in the West. However, the gap is not that big. We just need to be a bit stricter and firmer. What happens is that when you ban hawking, then somebody somewhere who has got that kind of business has to put political pressure, so that we open hawking, we go back to Square A. I would also like to get the support of the House to ensure that when we take those measures, we stick to them. When we tell the independent tea processors that they must buy from farmers and not hawkers, then again, we would like the support of the leadership The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only.A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and Audio Services,Senate."
}