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{
"id": 244582,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/244582/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. L.M. Maitha",
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"speaker": {
"id": 249,
"legal_name": "Lucas Baya Mweni Maitha",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the Mover of the Motion, Mr. Khamisi, for moving this Motion and donating to me some of his time. I think this type of legislation is a positive move by this House to give farmers confidence. Kenya is an agricultural economy and, as legislators, we should be able to come up with the right legislations to guide agriculture. We know that there is a very big part of this country that is dry and that without deliberate huge investment, we cannot do substantial agriculture. However, what is more disturbing is that even those areas that are endowed with natural factors, and the Coast Province being one of them, there is no substantial agriculture taking place. Cashew nuts growing in the 1980s was one of the major contributors to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the 1980s,' cashew nut sales contributed to 4 per cent of our GDP. That is very substantial when you talk of a national economy. Today, it is almost negligible. What happened? Why has it been allowed to go down the drain? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, secondly, cashew nuts growing is found in one of the areas that hardly have any cash crops of substance. In the coast region, cashew nuts, coconut and mango trees are some of the major cash crops that we can boast of yet all of them have been left unattended due to lack of policy by subsequent governments. Therefore, this legislation is timely and we urge the House to support it so that it can add value to our national economy and assist our farmers. Since 1963, there has never been any major investment in terms of research and development for the cashew nut tree. It was only in 1963 that a major research project was launched to look for a high and quick maturing variety. That project was subsequently abandoned July 5, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1831 due to lack of funding. However, we have seen in countries, like India and Sri Lanka, cashew nut trees that mature in five years and have very high yields. This shows that there was a deliberate move to let the industry die. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the year 2000, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) known as Action Aid had a pilot project in Malindi District, Lango Baya Location. They assisted the farmers to fumigate the cashew nut trees. The results were overwhelming! That year, we had a bumper harvest. There are existing cashew nut trees that are old and have been infested by pests and diseases. If the Ministry of Agriculture had assisted farmers to fumigate this crop, I am sure the cashew nuts industry would have been revived by now. But lack of attention coupled with none existence of extension officers has led to the decline and deterioration of this industry in the region. Mr. Temporary Deputy Sir, apart from the cashew nuts, groundnuts do very well in the coast region. In the 1970s and 1980s, we had huge groundnut production in the Coast region. But production was left to die, because most of the industries that were making oil from groundnuts in Mombasa collapsed, leading to the collapse of groundnuts farming. So, we need a law to regulate cashew nut growing and marketing. We also need a fund to support farmers. I have more to say but the hon. Member who donated this time is demanding that I conclude. So, with those few remarks, I beg to support this Motion and urge hon. Members to support it."
}