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{
    "id": 1590619,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1590619/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 108,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Okiya Omtatah",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for the opportunity. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53(1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Tourism, Trade and Industrialisation on a matter of national concern regarding the move by the Government to grant the Business Bay Square Mall in Eastleigh approval to import 500,000 metric tonnes of rice into the country. This development has raised concern about the impact of this decision on local rice farmers, the transparency of the quota allocation process and the apparent bypassing of established regulatory institutions such as the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), which under the Crops Act, is mandated to oversee decisions related to food crop imports. In the Statement, the Committee should address the following- (1) The criteria and policy justification used by the Government to allocate the rice importation quota to Business Bay Square Mall, including whether the process was competitive and aligned with legal and regulatory frameworks such as the Crops Act and the Food Crops Regulations of 2019; (2) The role played by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in this importation and why the Ministry of Agriculture and the AFA were not consulted in a matter that falls under their regulatory mandate; (3) Assessment by AFA on the current domestic production and consumption levels of rice and whether a deficit existed to warrant this large-scale importation, especially in light of reports indicating that more than 5,000 metric tonnes of rice remain uncollected at the Mwea Rice Growers Multipurpose Cooperative Society; (4) The measures in place to cushion local rice farmers from the adverse effects of such imports, including the budgetary provisions referred to by the Director General of AFA to procure excess rice from local cooperatives and how this aligns with Kenya's agricultural policy priorities under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA); and, (5) Impact of rice imports on local market prices and outline strategies being implemented to balance food affordability for consumers, while safeguarding the competitiveness and sustainability of local rice production. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir."
}