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"speaker_name": "Mr. Wamalwa",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I also rise to support the Motion. This a very important Vote. When our founding fathers founded this nation, they declared that the most important things in this nation that we had to fight with at the dawn of Independence was hunger, disease and ignorance. Poverty ensures hunger in this nation. When you look at the three, you will find that a nation that is not self-sufficient in food--- A hungry nation cannot be a stable nation! Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I believe that, amongst the three, if we were to look at the Ministry of Agriculture, which ensures our national food security; if we were to look at the Ministry of Health, which deals with disease; if we were to look at the Ministry of Education, which deals with education and the fight against ignorance, you will find that they are all very important Ministries. Out of the three, the Ministry of Agriculture is the one that has been given the least attention and resources and yet, it is the most important! Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I listened to my pastor last Sunday during the service and he was talking about faith, hope and love. He said that, amongst the three, the most important was love. But I believe that amongst the three Ministries, the most important, really, is the Ministry of Agriculture. That is because without feeding a nation--- Or anyone who is not able to feed his family cannot be respected! Any child going to school hungry will learn nothing. Any nation, however secure in terms of military equipment, but with hunger, is the most insecure nation on earth. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, looking at history, the greatest army of Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated because of hunger, and the cold winter in Russia, yet it had the largest army and the best equipment. In Kenya, we have given our No.1 slot to education, defence and health and have forgotten about agriculture. The Kshs13 billion that the Minister is seeking today is far from enough, especially in a year like this. With the post-election violence, we know what happened in this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, official Government records show that about three million bags of maize were burnt and destroyed. This country faces a food deficit, because many farmers were IDPs. I come from Trans Nzoia. It is the food basket of Kenya, yet it was one of the hardest hit in terms of violence. Many of the farmers were not able to access their farms, and those who were able to do so, could not afford inputs. The price of fertiliser doubled from Kshs1,800 to Kshs4,000. Two weeks ago, I raised an issue in this House that the price of fertiliser had skyrocketed to Kshs6,500 per bag. The Minister has assured that they were going to import subsidised fertiliser. He indicated that by Friday last week, the fertiliser would be in this country. If this did not happen, they would resign. Well, I do not know if the Minister has resigned or not. I do not know if this subsidised fertiliser is in the country or not, but I know that we have a perennial problem of fertiliser in this country. We must come up with strategies on how we can establish a fertiliser factory in this country, where we can produce fertiliser and avail inputs to farmers at affordable prices. This would boost productivity. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, every year, as we approach the planting season, we are always late in accessing or importing fertiliser. The Minister has been at pains before this House, trying to explain what they are trying to do about fertiliser, yet we are always late. Whenever the fertiliser arrives, it is at unaffordable prices and farmers are not able to plant on time or as they may wish. When Heads of State met in Maputo, in their wisdom, they declared that each country shall strive to, at least, set aside 10 per of their annual budgets for agriculture. Kenya was one of the countries that subscribed to this declaration in Maputo. Up to now, we are told that five countries have complied. Where is Kenya? We heard of poorer countries than Kenya, that are now self- 3046 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 28, 2008 sufficient in food. We have heard about the story of Malawi. This was a country whose population relied on relief food, but through proper planning, commitment by the government and allocation of enough resources to the agricultural sector, today, as we speak, Malawi is one of the countries that are a success story in turning around the situation and achieving national food security. It is not only doing that, but Malawi is now able to export food. Why can Kenya not do this? We have very able, qualified and learned manpower in the Ministry and in the country. What we have been lacking is the goodwill to support this very important Ministry, and this must be done. Though we support this Motion, we feel very strongly that the money allocated is not enough. When the Minister comes back, we must support that more funds are allocated to this very crucial Ministry. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we will also be urging that the Ministry should look at such institutions as the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) and the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC). These are institutions that have been helping the Kenyan farmer. In May 2008, this House passed a Motion, that because of the devastation by the post- election violence, we would have a reprieve for the farmers by writing off the AFC loans owed by farmers who were affected by the conflict and are unable to service them. Though, as my friend Maj-Gen. Nkaisserry has said, this was passed this House, up to now, nothing has been done. I did not hear the Minister mention anything or any intention to do anything about restructuring the AFC, or doing something to help farmers access finance. We appreciate the Kilimo Biashara initiative, but where is the AFC in all this? This is the natural home of farmers, but nothing has been done. Farmers still continue to lose their farms. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, after the post-election violence, it is business as usual, farms are being auctioned and no regard has been given to what this House passed concerning the suffering of farmers of Kenya. We urge that something be done to restructure AFC and the ADC. If enough funds are given, these two institutions can be revamped so as to help the Kenyan farmers and, through that, boost productivity in this country. I am very happy to hear the Minister say that they are going to put in more money towards extension services. This was one service that was very effective in the late 1980s and 1990s, but as we speak, the extension service workers hardly access farmers. Farmers need this help! They need to be educated, not only through annual agricultural shows, but also need extension service providers to go out to the villages and to their farms, however small or large, to bring the farmer up to date with the latest technology and inputs. This is a crucial aspect in the war against hunger and poverty in this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am also very pleased to hear the Minister talk about restructuring KEPHIS and extending the mandate, so that it will not only be looking at the health but also at the issue of fertiliser. This is something that we need to support, because we have very qualified technical staff at KEPHIS that I believe are under-utilised. We need to put in more to ensure that more of this reaches the farmer. I wish to also state that in the area of wheat growing, it is shocking to hear that we are only able to produce 40 per cent, and we end up importing 60 per of our wheat, yet when you go to Narok and other parts of this country, there is enough land. We do not understand what is happening, but this is one area I would expect that the Ministry would put in more, so that we can produce more and achieve national food security. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}