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{
    "id": 181853,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/181853/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 164,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Chanzu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 11,
        "legal_name": "Yusuf Kifuma Chanzu",
        "slug": "yusuf-chanzu"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I stand here to support the Vote for the Ministry of Agriculture. October 29, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3145 Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as all of us have heard and know, the Ministry is the mainstay of our economy. It is necessary that we allocate sufficient funds for the performance of the Ministry. As we talk about more funds for the Ministry, the Minister and his staff must also take care that whatever resources that we vote for the Ministries are equitably distributed. I was looking at some figures yesterday - I am sorry I did not carry the document - there are some items for extension services where I saw that Rift Valley Province was given a figure which is quite high compared to North Eastern Province. I think over Kshs100 million was allocated to Rift Valley Province. North Eastern where there have been a lot of problems with the funding of livestock projects was given about Kshs39 million. Western Province was given about Kshs30 million and Eastern Province was given almost Kshs100 million. I would not substantiate the discussion we had but this is something that needs to be looked into. There was suspicion that because the Minister comes from the Rift Valley Province, that is why there was a lot of money put there. There was also suspicion that because the two Assistant Ministers come from Eastern Province, that is why that portion of money was put there. So, these are the kind of things that need to be looked into, so that there is fairness in the distribution of the resources. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have talked so much about farm inputs. It is too expensive for farmers to put in fertilisers, leave alone ploughing which was talked about quite a lot because of the cost of fuel. The fertilisers themselves, top-dressing and other inputs are very expensive. So, it is very difficult for a farmer to realise anything from his farm. I am thinking of a situation whereby this Ministry would work hand in hand with other Ministries such as the Ministry of Lands where we have a lot of idle land so that we can encourage large scale-farming like we used to have in the past whereby it was possible to have sufficient reserve for the purpose of food security. So, I recommend that we look into ways and means of getting back into large scale- farming. I know a lot of land was grabbed from the ADC through corruption. A number of farms were divided into very small units which are not viable at all. They are just for subsistence. But if we have to have enough reserve, we have to think about large scale-farming. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of subsidies has been talked about. I think that is the only way out because tea farmers are uprooting tea. We have seen this happening in Othaya and in other parts of the country. This is because farmers are not getting enough income out of the tea they are planting. My colleague who spoke here just a shortwhile ago mentioned about the loan which was taken by Mudete Tea Factory. At the function, we talked about the area that feeds Mudete Tea Factory. The hon. Member did not tell you that when we called the KTDA representative to address the congregation, there was an uproar. Even when we raised the issue of writing-off of the loan of Kshs400 million, there was a big problem because farmers are saying that even if the money is written-off, it is being consumed by the big fish in the tea sector. So, the Ministry should make sure that the benefit goes down to the farmers. Once the loan is written-off, the officials continue levying the loan from the meagre payments that are due to farmers. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the key sectors that has been highlighted for us to achieve Vision 2030 is agriculture. It will not be possible for us to achieve that if farmers are getting into difficulties with payments. If we increase CDF allocation from 2.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent or 10 per cent, I think there should be a way to ensure that farmers have basic inputs. We cannot be talking about farming when farmers cannot afford the basic inputs. So, one of the items that I would push for when we make amendments to the CDF Act is to make sure that some of the money goes towards financing farmers for the basic inputs like fertiliser, seeds and whatever equipment that they would want to use. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}