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{
    "id": 219784,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/219784/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 238,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. O.K. Mwangi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 240,
        "legal_name": "Onesmus Kihara Mwangi",
        "slug": "onesmus-mwangi"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, tea is one of the most important commodities in this country. It is one of the major foreign exchange earners. However, I must decry the fact that small scale farmers in the tea industries have been given a raw deal by the Government. Why do I say so? This is because when you look at the tea spectrum, particularly small-scale farming, you find very little being done by the Government per se . I remember that at one time in this House we made amendments to the KTDA Act. We changed it from Authority to Agency. However, unfortunately, despite the fact that we amended the Act, the KTDA has continued to act like it is an authority. The tea factories have not given a free-hand to the small- scale farmers to do what they want to do to maximize on their profits. We find that the KTDA is holding the hands of the small-scale farmers and it is actually getting the bigger share of the value of the tea that we have. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to thank Mr. Angwenyi for bringing in this Motion to this House. If I had known earlier, I would have advised him to bring a Motion on tea development instead of this one on tea factories. There are very many areas that have been neglected in the tea development industry. You will find that roads that serve tea-growing areas have been neglected. The Government is not even putting in a hand. We have tried the little we can through the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). But you will realise that, that is just a drop in the ocean. It cannot help much. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, you will also find that the Government has not even continued to maintain the roads that pass through these areas. In my constituency, I have three fully fledged tea factories but, the roads that serve the factories have been left to dilapidate almost to an extent that they are impassable. Tea farmers in those areas are supposed to use those roads to transport their tea. So, you find that a lot of tea goes to waste before it gets to the market. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I remember that the Minister for Trade and Industry promised this House that he would subsidise the cost of fuel being used in tea factories. Unfortunately, to date, no such a thing has been done. If you look at our environment around tea- growing areas, you will find that the forests and the farms have"
}