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"id": 248402,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Dr. Ojiambo",
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"speaker": {
"id": 362,
"legal_name": "Julia Auma Ojiambo",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to take this opportunity to thank hon. Members for their very sincere contribution to this amendment Bill. I have taken note of their very important contribution. I wish also to thank the Minister for his contribution to this Bill and the support he has given us. When we started working on this amendment Bill, we held a lot of consultations with the Minister and stakeholders. Members of Parliament in whose areas cotton is grown were also consulted. I am very happy that their opinions have been brought together in the Second Reading of this Bill. We have, indeed, come out richer in terms of knowledge of what we need to do to make the cotton industry thrive and more sustainable for Kenyans. I have taken note of the fact that Kenyans are aware that the cotton industry was supporting a lot of people in the marginalised areas of this country. It was a big income earner for us. In fact, over eight million people depended on the cotton industry. Today, it is upon us, as a Parliament, to assist these people reinstate themselves back to this industry. We need to give them a better legal framework within which they can operate and manage their welfare. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have noted concerns about the cotton co-operative societies that used to propel cotton production and development in this country. When liberalisation came about, the cotton industry collapsed and so did the co-operative societies. 1140 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 6, 2006 We have noted that members of such societies are rendered helpless without a framework that puts them together. Since the co-operative societies collapsed, members will have to rely on these new regulations that are meant to put them together. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am happy to note that Members of Parliament were concerned about the quality of cotton in this country. They emphasised on the area of research. They argued that research on cotton seeds should be done in order to improve the quality of seed which should be made available to cotton farmers. The staple link should be improved for export market in order to make our cotton competitive. This is important and it is the reason why stakeholders wanted us to look afresh at the cotton industry. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, hon. Members have mentioned international trade pacts that could help foreign and local markets for the benefit of growers. In that respect, it is important to bring into the fold the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industry. He has participated in many fora with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and many other organizations. He was able to bring information on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). He is capable of bringing in the necessary information and support that cotton growers need. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, cotton development itself is very important. I am glad that hon. Members have talked about idle land that could be cultivated to increase cotton yields. We have over one million hectares of land available for cotton production. We have also talked about eight million Kenyans who could benefit from that activity. Definitely, we are talking about many jobs being created. It is important to revive the cotton industry to assist those who do not have other economic activities to sustain their livelihoods. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we all know that those who live below the poverty line come from areas which depended on cotton as their main cash crop. Those people still live under the same conditions. They live in abject poverty even today because some of them, especially from Busia, do not have any other means of livelihood. They just wait and ask when their cotton industry will be resuscitated. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, many ideas have been raised to benefit cotton growers. Hon. Members have made reference to dilapidated cotton ginneries and development of Export Processing Zones (EPZs). Ginneries should also add value to cotton by introducing spinning, weaving, oil extraction, cotton animal feeds and so on. All that can be done when a proper legal framework is put in place to control farming activities and to do proper research to enhance the skills of farmers in the management of the crop. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, these amendments are aimed at giving mandate to cotton growers to have more say in their own trade and acquire modern skills to manage their resources. I am pleased to note that these amendments are establishing a Cotton Development Authority to enable stakeholders to participate in the management of their own activities. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have agreed with the Minister and hon. Members that other amendments will be brought at the Committee Stage. We have looked at this amendment Bill together with the Minister. We will introduce aspects that we think are necessary to make the draft amendment Bill richer. Hon. Members can look at what they contributed on the Floor of the House against what is in the printed amendment Bill. Later, at the Committee Stage, they can assist us to make it richer and more useful before we finish this process. With those few remarks, I beg to move."
}