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{
"id": 181377,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/181377/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. I. Muoki",
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"speaker": {
"id": 87,
"legal_name": "Isaac Mulatya Muoki",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. I would like to say that this is a very important subject; I am very happy that when I look across the House, I see most hon. Members who come from the ASALs are in the Chamber the way I am in it, so that we can discuss this important Motion. I would like to congratulate the Minister because he comes from an ASAL region and, indeed, he has been very keen on the issue of livestock. I want to tell him to keep up because it is through him, and his initiatives, that we shall achieve a lot in this sector. The issue of livestock is very important. Our country is about 80 per cent ASALs. You will realise that the ASALs are the areas that are very ideal for livestock. We are talking about camels, goats, traditional cattle and other kinds of livestock. If we support the Minister and the activities that he is undertaking, we will stand to benefit, as a country. Of importance, would be the improvement of livestock. You know the way, as the Minister aid, livestock in this country was kept for historical reasons. The more animals, the richer you are and the more important you are. It was a symbol of pride and importance. Therefore, we still have that element in our thinking, and it is high time we looked at the sector and tried to improve our livestock. I am thinking of, for example, trying to cross-breed our local breeds in most areas, like where I come from; most of the ASALs have such animals. With improvement or cross-breeding, we will have animals which are able to stay in those areas and which are of good quality. This will ensure that we have good quality livestock. I would also like to say that, as a country, it is high time we thought of livestock farming as a business. With the kind of land and climate we have, I am sure we can develop the livestock sector, so that we would be self-sufficient in terms of meat and milk supply. We would also export these to other countries and earn some good export revenue. We can also use livestock as a commercial venture by buying livestock across the region, where we would have animals from one region being sold to another, or where we would have animals from the rural areas being sold to the cities for meat. Therefore, it would be very important if we could try to develop our livestock to the level where we would be self-sufficient and even have something for export. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in addition to that, one issue that the Minister and the 3206 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 30, 2008 Ministry will have to address very effectively is diseases. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need a mechanism, whereby should we have a disease outbreak, the response should be very fast and it should not affect livestock. We have had cases of disease outbreaks for animals and by the time the Ministry takes action, we have lost many of them. The other issue is that of diseases and their perception from international countries. You will realise that if we have a small problem of a disease outbreak, it is so amplified internationally that it affects the international market of our livestock products. Therefore, we need to address such issues so that we do not lose our animals through disease and at the same time, we can become a disease-free country for livestock and, therefore, our international markets will be ready and waiting for us. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also like to emphasise the issue of research for high quality livestock. You find that research and its transfer through extension staff to the farmers is very important. It is a pity that the kind of research we expect for livestock is mainly in the Ministry of Agriculture and yet it mainly deals with crops. We also have the Ministry of Livestock Development and the Ministry of Fisheries Development. You will find that if research for livestock is under another Ministry, then, of course, it will not be as effective as if it was under the Minister himself. Therefore, it is very important to have good mechanisms for research so that whatever they find can also be transferred to the farmer through the extension workers. In this vein, we would also like to see more extension farmers. I am sure we have a shortage of staff in every Ministry in this country. In Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), it is very important to have these extension workers. I know like in my constituency, Mutomo, we have very few of them. We have a whole division being manned by one officer and given the vastness of such an area, you find that no matter how hard working this office is and willing to serve people, he will not be as effective as if there were three others assisting him. Therefore, it is also very important for the Minister to see that whenever he gets money, he increases the ratio of livestock officers to the farmers and that will go a long way in terms of helping the farmers. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I come from a region which is conducive for bee- keeping and you get honey which is not contaminated by pesticides or other chemicals. I would like to specifically urge the Ministry to have affirmative action for such areas, whereby our farmers would be enabled in one way or another through credit facilities, extension workers, education and other arrangements to improve bee-keeping. Through that, we know we can get honey, wax and pollination from bee-keeping which will assist the farmers from the region. Therefore, I would like to urge the Minister and his staff to take the issue of bee-keeping seriously, especially in regions like Mutomo Constituency where I come from. I would also like to say that Kenyans need to change their thinking. I am sure if we talk about something like ostrich or butterfly farming, somebody may not take them as very important. The Ministry should encourage Kenyans to engage themselves in emerging livestock, because this is a very important sector in terms of making money. If we can encourage our farmers to engage in butterfly farming like is done in Kilifi, they will make money. There are people who make a lot of money from ostrich farming, guinea fowl farming; which are very common in my place, crocodile farming and other livestock. We call these emerging livestock. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like the Minister, through the extension officers, to encourage our farmers. In this way, when we talk about livestock farming, we do not just think about cattle, goat and sheep. We should think across the board and think about cattle, goats, sheep, camel and emerging livestock so that we improve our country. Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, along with my colleagues, I would like to say that this is a very important Policy Document which we should all support. We should support the Minister October 30, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3207 and even where possible, ask the Government to increase the budget of the Ministry. The policies are good but the Ministry has been allocated less than 4 per cent of the national budget. That poses a big challenge to the Ministry. As I have already said, those of us who come from ASAL areas are very supportive of all the good policies the Minister has proposed. If there is a way we could increase the allocation for the Ministry of Agriculture as we said, it should be done along with the Ministry of Livestock Development. We would then be talking about developing this country to the right direction. With those few remarks, I beg to support"
}