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"id": 175447,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Kinjanjui",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Roads",
"speaker": {
"id": 48,
"legal_name": "Lee Maiyani Kinyanjui",
"slug": "lee-kinyanjui"
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"content": " Thank you, Madam Temporary December 10, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3991 Deputy Speaker, for granting me this opportunity to contribute to this very important Motion, that seeks to address some of the issues affecting our people during this very difficult period. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the hon. Member for Mathira for having brought this Motion to the House, to give us the opportunity to address the issues that appertain to food production and food security in our country. We, as a country, have failed to maximize our capacity to produce sufficient food from our land. Out of the Kenya's about 600,000 square kilometres, only about 20 per cent is used for agriculture. We know that in a country like Israel, for example, which has a very harsh terrain and weather, and whose total area is equivalent to the size of the Tsavo National Park which is just a small fraction of our country, it is self-sufficient and able to export her agricultural produce. We have had many Sessional Papers. We have had many deliberations about how we can improve our agriculture, but a lot still needs to be done. In this year's Budget, we had allocated a total of Kshs400 million that was supposed to be used to set up a fertiliser factory, that would have reduced the cost of fertiliser locally. This is yet to happen. This is just an example of the many proposals that we have made about increasing production and lowering the cost of production, that has not been brought to the logical conclusion. Our farmers are also poorly motivated. As it has been seen in sections of the North Rift, a farmer prepares his land and he has no idea how much he will sell his commodity. At a time like now when the cost of fertiliser and other farm inputs is high, the farmer ends up putting more than he actually gets at the end of the period. As we consider fixing the prices of foods, it would also do much more good if we could guarantee our farmers the prices at which they can sell their produce. Using this technique, they will be able to plan well and borrow, knowing that when they plough whatever acreage, they are able to re-service their loans. Currently, the farmers invest all their money and they have no idea, whatsoever, how much they will sell their produce. This has been a great impediment towards increasing production. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, in the area of research, we have not been very fast in trying to come up with varieties that can withstand the harsh terrains in most of the sections in this country, for example, Eastern and North Eastern provinces. As a result, we rely on a small section, namely, the North Rift, to produce maize which is the stable food for the whole country. For example, in the unlikely event we had an outbreak of some diseases that affected only that crop, then we would be in serious trouble. This means that we need to explore ways and means to address these problems. We have introduced a Bill on Biosafety that will help us come up with better varieties that will be grown in other areas. This will boost production. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also like to add my voice to the very important subject about the serious climatic change that has resulted in unpredictable weather. This has led to crop failure in many places in the North Rift and other parts of the country. In Nakuru District where I come from, we used to plant wheat and barley all the way from Njoro to Rongai. However, with the degradation of the Mau Forest, most of those areas have now been rendered unsuitable for cultivation. Therefore, I would like to support this Motion by saying that we should come up with clear and tangible ways of supporting our farmers, for example, by giving them proper incentives so that they can produce more."
}