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"id": 194781,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Wamalwa",
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"legal_name": "Eugene Ludovic Wamalwa",
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"content": "of 2nd May, a statement by the World Bank President Mr. Lobert Zoleck. He is coming up with a new deal. It is an initiative to double lending to agricultural countries in order to help poor farmers access credit to enhance productivity. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in Senegal, the President has come up with a new initiative that he has called GOANA. That stands for \"Great Offensive for Food and Abundance\". This is an African nation that has seen the crisis situation coming ahead of it and has moved to enhance production by starting programmes that will bring about a green revolution in the sub-saharan Africa. The food offensive that the Senegalese President has put in place is, indeed, meant to help the Senegalese farmer to produce more by accessing affordable credit. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Kenyan situation is no different. I am very pleased to say that yesterday we witnessed the launching of a new initiative by the Government that is now aggressively courting the private sector to intervene by availing accessible and affordable credit. This initiative is called \" Kilimo Biashara \". It is a partnership between the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), IFAD and the Equity Bank. Kshs3.2 billion credit facility has been availed to small scale farmers in Kenya. Indeed, it is a good development and gives Kenyans hope. However, as we speak, the Kenyan farmer has not only been afflicted by violence, but is also burdened by debts. Many of them are unable to access more credit, because they are already indebted to institutions like the AFC and the ADC. As a result, their title deeds have been held as collateral or security by these institutions. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, even with the new initiative no more small-scale Kenyan farmer may enjoy the new facilities, unless the Government first intervenes to ensure that the burden that the Kenyan farmer is bearing is reduced through a write-off of these loans. This will give the Kenyan farmer relief and enable him to recover from the situation facing this country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was very pleased to note that there has been an initiative, where 870 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES May 7, 2008 Kshs60 million was set aside to start a sensitisation campaign against tuberculosis. This was launched by the Government yesterday. However, we are praying that the Government will initiate a similar programme, where, after writing off AFC and ADC debts, through extension officers, the Government will reach the ordinary farmers on the farms to encourage them access this affordable credit. It should encourage the farmer on his farm to grow more than he or she already has in order that Kenya may enhance productivity in agriculture. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am advised that already Kshs148 million has been set aside for this purpose. However, we are praying that, as we talk of assisting the Internally Displace persons (IDPs), who are mainly farmers, we must start by first relieving them of the heavy burden of the debt that they are already carrying. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is in this spirit that I am proposing that the Government considers writing off AFC and ADC loans. After this, the Government should consider injecting more funds into these institutions, so that they can enhance their capacity to re-lend to the farmers. It is, indeed, a good initiative through Equity Bank. However, many farmers have been more at home with the AFC. These are the traditional institutions that have helped farmers grow over the years. It would be a good thing if the Government injected more funds to farmers through the institutions. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is not the first time that this is happening. There have been similar situations in the past when Kenya was faced with drought. In 1994 there was a write-off of AFC loans to farmers. This was done as a result of a directive by the Government. This was when we had the El Nino and the La Nina, and farmers were greatly relieved. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in 2002, through Sessional Paper No.1, the Government, again, wrote off seasonal credit loans owed by farmers to the AFC. This had a major impact in not only giving farmers the relief, but also enhancing productivity. The Government has also in the past intervened, like it did in 1989, by writing off the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) loans amounting to over Kshs1 billion. In 2003, through Sessional Paper No.2, the Government also wrote off KMC loans amounting to Kshs3.2 billion. The Government has also intervened in the past in the coffee sector by writing off debts in order to give relief to coffee farmers. The entire lending portfolio of the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), I am advised, is about Kshs4 billion. So, what we are asking for is something that the Government has done before and, therefore, is able to do so. We are urging that this be done in the interest of enhancing productivity and empowering the Kenyan farmer to be able to produce more. Indeed, agriculture remains the backbone of the economy. Almost 80 per cent of the Kenyan society depends on agriculture. Unlike in Europe and America where the farmer is protected and cushioned by the Government through subsidies, the Kenyan farmer has been exposed to the vagaries of weather and the unstable fertilizer market, which is subject to international petroleum prices that are always fluctuating. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the agricultural sector in Kenya requires a lot of money. However, what has been availed to farmers through the AFC is just Kshs4 billion. Clearly, this is not enough to help the farmer access enough credit and put more money in his pocket, so that he can produce more. Indeed, we were in a real crisis which affected all farmers. As I speak now, we have many farmers living in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps. I am happy because the Government is in the process of resettling them. We are glad that the Government has taken the initiative in the so-called \"Operation Rudi Nyumbani \" in resettling these farmers. But as the farmers go back, they will need an extra relief. We are urging that this be done through writing off their previous loans and freeing them to access further credit, so that they can produce more. In fact, we are urging that after the \"Operation Rudi Nyumbani \", perhaps, the Government should come up with a new \"Operation Rudi Mashambani,\" so that they can go back to their farms. With extra money in their pockets, I am sure, they can produce more food. May 7, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 871 The season for planting maize has ended. But we have the season for planting wheat coming up. With proper financing, initiatives and incentives, the farmers can be empowered to grow more wheat, potatoes, rice, beans, millet and sorghum, like they are doing in Senegal. These are the initiatives we are urging that the Government starts, so that the Kenyan farmer can be empowered. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this morning I listened to a Sudanese saying, that when your neighbour is hungry, your chicken are not safe. If this nation does not rise up now and produce more food, there will be a food crisis because what we have in our farms is not enough. If you had occasion to travel from Nairobi all the way to Kitale by road, you would be surprised to see that many farms are lying fallow. The food that we normally grow has not been grown this year. Something needs to be done urgently to empower the farmers to grow. It is in this spirit that I am urging that all Members do support this Motion, so that we can save the Kenyan farmers and ensure national food security for all in this nation. We are urging all Members, in supporting this Motion, in the words of Prophet Isaiah, to undo the heavy burden and let the oppressed go free. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to move the Motion and ask my friend, hon. Koech, to second."
}