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{
"id": 219791,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Koros",
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"speaker": {
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"legal_name": "David Kiptanui Koros",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I wish to thank Mr. Angwenyi for bringing this Motion. I think it is not late for this Motion to come to this House. Tea farmers have been suffering for ages. We know that our tea fetches a lot of money outside there. The problem is that we do not have enough factories. As a result of this we spend a lot of money in processing tea. I wish to request the Government that every sub-location or location should have a factory. We should also use firewood in processing tea. Farmers especially in the Rift Valley suffer a lot because the amount of money they get from tea is too little to sustain them. This tea is exported to other countries and it fetches a lot of money while farmers do not get anything. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as we said, farming in this country is the backbone of our nation. If we do not empower farmers, they will suffer and our economy will continue going down. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, where tea is grown, we know it grows throughout the year, and we would like to urge the Government to, at least, encourage those localities to have more tea farms. You will find a farmer who has land, but planting tea is a problem because of the fertilizers and seedlings. So, in this case, I would like the Government to come in and assist the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) so that the farmers can benefit from subsidized tea inputs. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we know that the Government has a plan, in the next 20 years, to ensure that Kenya will be industrialized. But it will not be industrialized if our farmers are still poor. I wish to request the Government that, if they will subsidize farm inputs, then our farmers will manage to grow tea and prices should be increased. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if go back to our history, the White settlers invested so May 23, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1543 much in tea because they knew that was where they would get profits. But still, the White settlers are the ones who are owning these tea farms. So, I would like to request the Ministry that, if there is a way where we can have--- It is now over 40 years since we got Independence, yet the White settlers are still controlling our tea farms. I would like to request the Government if we can have tea farms being controlled by our indigenous Kenyans. I know that the Government is willing to support tea farmers, but if they cannot move very fast in five years--- The other day, I was young and I used to see White settlers farming tea and, up to now, they are still there. Why can the Government not force them to accommodate the blacks or indigenous Kenyans? With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}