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"id": 182158,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Konchella",
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"speaker": {
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"legal_name": "Gideon Sitelu Konchella",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this 3050 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 28, 2008 opportunity to contribute. I also stand to support the Ministry's Budget as proposed by the Minister. He has shown that he is able to turn around the agricultural sector in this country, at least, from what we have heard him saying. But it looks to some of us that the Ministry of Agriculture is about traditional agriculture. It has nothing about the future or arid and marginalised areas. Ukambani, today, is almost a net recipient of relief food. Even when the Assistant Minister spoke here, he was not able to tell us about any programmes for irrigation in Ukambani, so that the people can feed themselves as opposed to being net receivers of relief food. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in my own constituency, we grow maize and other agricultural crops. Every time the maize is ready for harvest so that the farmer can sell, the Ministry has no money. So, half of that maize ends up going to other places. Farmers in other districts buy maize very cheaply because of the flooded market. As a result, right now, the four litre tin that is used to sell maize in rural areas costs Kshs100, as opposed to Kshs30 or Kshs40 before. That is because the Ministry has depleted all the maize stocks in the Kilgoris Depot to feed the rest of the country. Yet, when we had maize to sell to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), the Ministry had no money to buy that maize. So, that is one of the things that I would like to ask the Minister. We have two harvesting seasons in Trans Mara; January and, sometimes, July. Could the Ministry allocate money to the NCPB so that, when the farmers are ready to sell their maize, it can buy it? We are able to supply between 200 and 400 bags as a district. Right now, there is a problem. In my own district, which is a net producer of maize, people are not able to eat. They are going hungry because their maize has been taken away. I think we should have a minimum stock holding in every district. People who sell their maize must have something left to feed their families. So, that is one problem. I want to echo what Maj-Gen. Nkaisserry has said about arid areas with regard to livestock farmers. The livestock farmer is the most marginalised person in this Republic. That is because when the Ministry considers writing-off loans, it is only for traditional farmers - coffee, tea or other agricultural crops. That is simply because majority of people who work in the Government come from those traditional farming areas. Therefore, those from arid areas are really marginalised not just in terms of agricultural inputs, but also in the Jazima thing. The other day, we saw Turkanas dying of hunger. There is rainfall once in a year in that place. We can use that area for farming because the soil is very fertile. One of the things that we would like to ask the Ministry of Agriculture and the Government is to allocate money to the people to produce their own food in those regions. It is a big problem. People are dying because of lack of planning by the Government. Rural people cannot plan for themselves. It is the Government that can plan for them. Otherwise, a nation that cannot feed its own people really, is not a nation. That is why we have all those problems. It is a shame that people can die in a country that is able to feed itself. I agree on the 10 per cent allocation of Government Expenditure to this Ministry. The Ministry should tell us if it has got the additional allocation by the Government. What is it going to do to make sure that it does not end up with Anglo Leasing type of projects? We used to have something called Ken- Ren which should have produced fertilisers in this country for about 40 years. I do not know whether it is there or not. People are talking of wanting to start it all over again. I hope we are not going to end up with another Anglo Leasing project. I think the people of Kenya need managers of their economy for the future of their children. We do not want managers and distractors who will make everybody poor and a few rich. The rich will become richer and the poor, poorer. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I had an investor in my constituency who wanted to October 28, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3051 put up a sugar factory. Indeed, we produce the highest amount of sugar-cane that we supply to South Nyanza Sugar Company (SONY). That sugar factory has no capacity to crush the cane. So, sugar-cane ends up staying in the farms for sixty months. By the time you take it to the sugar factory, the sugar content is very low. It is actually not able to pay the loan or even the inputs by the farmer. That investor tried for three to four years to apply for the licence and meet the requirements. That investor is not using money from the Ministry of Agriculture or the Government. He is using his own money to put up a factory and help the farmers to improve their livelihood. But the Ministry of Agriculture, through the Kenya Sugar Board, which I think is the most corrupt organisation in this country, deliberately refused to license those people. Now, the people of Trans Mara have lost jobs because the proposed factory would have employed between 300 to 400 people. Under what law did the Kenya Sugar Board refuse an investor to put up a factory that would have crushed and extracted sugar from sugar-cane? There are some regulations that are an impediment to the development of this nation? When we talk about Vision 2030--- We will never attain it when we have Kenyans who are holding positions in the Government and whose motive is to enrich themselves through corruption. Their motive is to ensure that nobody else is able to have a future. That is why Africans are poor. It takes about three to four years for an investor in this country to create jobs by putting up an industry. In Rwanda, it takes one week. Why? Those people think about their people. They think about the future of their nation. It is high time the people of Kenya and, particularly, employees of the Government, realised that they earn their salaries because the people of Kenya pay their taxes. They should improve and enhance the people of Kenya's ability to access jobs, particulary our youth. Today, I would have employed 300 to 400 youths in Trans Mara. But officials of the Kenya Sugar Board cannot give a license because they want to be paid certain amounts of money or there are rules that must be met. I do not know what rules because the land does not belong to them. It belongs to my people who grow sugar-cane. That sugar-cane is rotting in the farms. It is a pity and a shame. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are able to grow tea in Trans Mara, and we have enough land to even grow maize. In most of the traditional farming areas, there have been subdivisions of land and now it is so small that it is agriculturally unviable. I expect the Ministry of Agriculture to look at the country and think about where they can expand food production. Trans Mara is one area where we can expand food production because we can grow tea and maize there, but the agricultural machinery that farmers can hire is in Kericho. When you go there, they are being used to work in one or two acres small farms, yet we have 100 acres where the farmers can grow maize. I want the Ministry of Agriculture to give priority in terms of land use, by supporting farmers who are able. I am asking the Minister to bring some agricultural machinery to Trans Mara and Kilgoris. When that is done, we will produce up to 300,000 or 400,000 bags in a year. We have land but farmers cannot afford to produce enough food. We can also grow tea like any other area. With those few remarks. I beg to support."
}