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{
    "id": 178550,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/178550/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 310,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Nyambati",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 116,
        "legal_name": "Walter Enock Osebe Nyambati",
        "slug": "walter-nyambati"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the chance to speak my piece. I stand here to very strongly support this Motion. A nation which cannot feed its people is doomed. A government which cannot ensure that its people are fed has no business governing. So, if this Government is not ensuring that our people are fed, then it has no business governing. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, most of us come from the rural areas, where there is abject poverty. Our people cannot afford to buy sugar. They cannot even afford to buy kerosene. The situation is terrible. I do not know what the Government is doing about it. The situation is very serious. This House has the responsibility of ensuring that we take care of our people. The food policy in this country must be given first priority. However, we cannot do so, unless we fund the Ministry of Agriculture appropriately. I want to submit that the Ministry of Agriculture must not be given less than 10 per cent of the annual Budget. If we cannot feed our people, then will be creating a very serious situation in the country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, a country like India which has over one billion people does not import food. It can feed her people. The same case applies to China. China has a population of more than one billion people, but is feeds them. In this country, we are talking of a population of 38 million people, but we cannot feed them. Our first priority should be to produce enough food for this country. This responsibility lies 3644 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES November 26, 2008 squarely with the Ministry of Agriculture. I am happy that we have a very energetic Minister, who should ensure that we have food in this country. He is doing a good job and we must support him. One thing I must say is that we spend billions of shillings to import food when we can spend only a quarter of that money to help our farmers produce enough food in this country. I urge the Minister for Agriculture to ensure that we introduce crop insurance in this country so that we help farmers when crops fail. Such an initiative will help the country to produce enough food. With those remarks, I beg to support."
}