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"id": 240776,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/240776/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Prof. Oniang'o",
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"legal_name": "Ruth Khasaya Oniang'o",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a very important issue to Kenyans. You are aware that during the previous famine, four million Kenyans were affected. It was a nationwide drought and a nationwide famine. The Government got involved and Kenyans of all walks of life were affected. They therefore, went ahead and donated food and money. In fact, even prisoners went on a fast in order to make a contribution to that famine. I also want to acknowledge that the Government raised an alert that the drought was a national disaster. The Government was able to bring in relief aid from other countries. But, at the same time, I want to compliment the Minister for Finance for factoring into this year's Budget some money for famine relief. Scientists tell us that we will, in fact, be experiencing three times, the number of drought seasons in a year, than we did in the 1990s. We cannot continue to address famine and hunger issues on an ad hoc basis. We cannot continue to treat the issue as a chronic emergency. If we go by what climate change scientists tell us, the situation will still become worse. Some countries already have some legal framework and mechanisms in place to deal with the issue of feeding their populations when times become difficult. What is happening in Africa, Kenya included, is that we continue to address hunger and feeding our people as if drought is an emergency; yet, food is a basic human right and every Government has an obligation to make sure that its people are properly fed. If people are not well-fed, they end up suffering from malnutrition and they cannot enjoy the basics of life, leave alone contributing to national development. My main reason for moving this Motion is not to discredit or ignore what the Government is doing, but rather, to give a chance to us, as Kenyans, to come together as stakeholders and address the issue of feeding Kenya for a good future. The future is not far away because we have already been told that pastoralists who lost their cattle to drought have hardly recovered. The livestock they have cannot even sustain their families. We are told that 3.1 million Kenyans are receiving a weekly ration of food from the World Food Programme (WFP). However, the ration lacks oil. Oil provides better energy and helps provide fatty acids which the body actually needs. There is a shortage of oil in those rations. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, right now, as we speak, we are told that about 500,000 children are on a lunch programme. More children could be on it, except that there is not enough food. We have 70 districts that are affected by drought in this country. That is a yearly occurrence. It, therefore, saddens me as a scientist in food and nutrition, and somebody who is concerned about food as the first medicine. Even when our people cry to have anti-retrovirals (ARVs) and drugs for tuberculosis, it is because those diseases attack the immune system. The reason why I say food is the first medicine is because good food in enough quantity and good quality strengthens the immune system. It gives the body the ability to use other medicines. 2366 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 26, 2006 So, we are talking of a country which must address itself very seriously to this particular issue. We have to sit down and come up with a framework that will address this issue. We are aware that most of the food that we get now comes from foreign countries. It comes from United States of America (USA), the European Union (EU) and China. China has a population of about 1.2 billion people. It could not feed itself about ten years ago, but today, China exports food to countries like ours. We also have countries which are very small. I have in mind New Zealand and Australia. They, too, export food to Kenya. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do not want Kenyans to continue to suffer the indignity of begging for food. Nobody who begs for food can talk of being dignified. So, as Kenyans, we should proudly sit down and say: \"We are capable of feeding ourselves!\" That way, we shall stand high internationally. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are aware that only a fifth of Kenya is arable and productive. But we are also aware that, that fifth is becoming over-settled and over-populated. It is becoming almost non-productive because we are over-using it. I remember going to Moyale when the late Hon. Guracha Galgalo died. I landed in Moyale and asked: \"Is this part of Kenya?\" I saw vast lands that were not even settled. They were not producing any crops. As I landed, I said: \"A great city could be built here!\" We have taken four-fifths of Kenya and decided it does not belong to Kenya. I know that with proper water management and irrigation, that unproductive part could produce enough food to feed the rest of Africa. So, we have to be strategic. We should plan, invest and move away from saying that four-fifths of Kenya is not productive. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when we talk about drought and famine, it is not only the pastoralists who are affected. It is not only the people of Ukambani who always receive relief food. The whole of Kenya is affected. My view is that, we should look at the grain basket of Kenya, which is western Kenya. If you go there right now, there is no infrastructure. There are no roads. I always wonder: \"Does this Government care about us producing food? Why do they not prioritise and make sure that infrastructure is in those parts of Kenya which are productive?\" That way, we can produce enough to feed Kenyans. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am told that the maize, wheat and other grains that we produce in Kenya are taken across the border to Tanzania. We have business people who buy there at a low price and pay cash to the farmers. They then sell the grains at premium prices to the World Food Programme (WFP), which then brings that food back to Kenya. This does not make sense. However, that happens because our Ministry of Agriculture decides that it can only give our farmers credit notes. The production cost for the farmers is too high for them to sit and wait to be paid after six months. That is their only source of income. You cannot blame them. You cannot brand them unpatriotic for selling their grains across the border. Something is very wrong here. It bothers me that as we go on, drought will come again, we shall move a Motion here to debate it and make contributions. This happens year in, year out. It is becoming worse. I have the HANSARD Report which shows our debate on famine and drought in this country. We even made monetary contributions. Before we know it, we are going to discuss the issue again. I remember how passionately we discussed the issue. We must do something about this. I would like us to discuss this issue when we are sober and not when it is an emergency, or when we are seeing pictures of Kenyans looking like the ones we see from our neighbouring countries of malnourished people. You do not want to look at those pictures because it is scandalous and embarrassing for any government. I have been in this field for a long time and I am aware that during the KANU Government's day - I can see the Front-benchers are missing - it was embarrassing for any Kenyan to have been reported to have starved to death. The Government would run there to make sure that we do not have these images on the international scene. However, during the last drought, many July 26, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2367 Kenyans died. A lot of livestock died too, which is people's livelihood. The famine emergency was announced during Christmas when we were supposed to be celebrating. At that time, the Government was at the Coast wining and dining, as our people were dying. They did not have anything to eat. This bothers me so much because I am a mother and I know that in Africa, and in Kenya particularly, it is the women who till the land and make sure that there is food on the table for the family. I would like this House to rise to the occasion and make sure that every Kenyan is assured of a meal. We have enough scientists. We have the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), which is a premier institution internationally. We should address ourselves to this issue. As I said before, and I want to repeat when the Minister is here, we should not suffer the indignity of begging for food. This is not acceptable. As many Kenyans continue to suffer from malnutrition, conflicts and HIV/AIDS are contributing towards this. We cannot talk of any national development if we cannot feed ourselves. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to commend hon. Munyes. He came late and he knows it. He should read the HANSARD to know what I have said. I saw him on television addressing the issue of drought in a very different way. What I am seeking here is not confined to one Ministry. It is not confined to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation or the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development. It needs to be addressed by all of us. It just so happens that one Ministry has to take it on. I want to repeat this for the Minister's benefit. We are not saying that the Government is not doing anything. This Government has done a lot. It has factored the issue of drought into the Budget already, but we cannot continue to address this issue as an emergency. Already, there is an alert in the Press that we are going to begin seeing pictures of hungry Kenyans on television. This is not acceptable. I would like to support what the Government is doing. As Kenyans, we should sit down and see where we are headed to. We should bring in our scientists. Even when foreigners want to assist us, they should assist us when they know that we have sat down as a knowledgeable country trying to address a catastrophe in waiting. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are already talking of a green revolution for Africa. We are talking of fertiliser use, with Kenya using only 8Kg per hectare compared to the international level of 200Kg. That is not acceptable. I was in Abuja, Nigeria, at a fertiliser summit and the Minister was not there. So, we are in the habit of addressing things as an emergency, and this has to stop. I want to support this Motion and hope that hon. Members are going to support it too. With those remarks, I beg to move and request Mr. C. Kilonzo to second the Motion."
}