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"id": 302003,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Ndambuki",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Agriculture",
"speaker": {
"id": 191,
"legal_name": "Gideon Musyoka Ndambuki",
"slug": "gideon-ndambuki"
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"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have supported this Policy Paper. I want to assure them that I have noted their concerns and I will take them forward, so that they can be incorporated. Even when we bring the Bill, I ask them to also take part and bring out these issues. As many Members have said there was a time, about 20 years ago, when the Ministry could not even employ an extension officer. Some of them retired and others left. This is because of the SAPs policies which were introduced by the World Bank. Everybody realizes that our production then was better than it is today. We require these people back, so that they can teach our farmers. Another item which has been emphasized by the Members is funding. I do not see how the Ministry of Agriculture will do what it is supposed to do with 3 per cent of the Budget. It cannot. It will be impossible to even pay the extension officers that we require. It will be impossible to even do research and provide some of these inputs like certified seeds and fertilizer. In fact, we are now relying on the greater part on donors’ funds. We need to increase the Government allocation to the Ministry of Agriculture. Some Members have also brought up the issue of marketing. We need to organize our farmers the way coffee farmers have been organized. We need to organize our farmers either in maize or cotton farming, so that they can have a voice and they can be heard. But if they are going to be left to talk individually, this will not work. The other issue which is very crucial is financing; credit. This is a major issue because it is only the AFC which provides funding. You find that sometimes what they have is not enough. Until just recently when Equity was brought on board by the Ministry giving some guarantees to the bank and they decided to finance cereals, there was only the AFC. We need to allocate more money to the AFC, so that our farmers can benefit. I totally agree with the Members when they say that we need to have AFC branches in each county, so that our farmers can access credit. I also want to turn to the farmers themselves. They need to listen to the few extension officers that we have. They do not listen to them. If you go to an area like Makueni County where the rain is very little and tell the farmers not to plant maize and to plant something like green grams or cowpeas, they do not listen because they have been in the habit of maize and beans. This has stuck with them. We need to move away from this kind of farming and get into business farming where you eat what you can eat and sell what you can sell. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to assure these hon. Members that the fertilizer for planting in September this year will be distributed to all the national cereals depots for farmers to buy by next week. So, the fertilizer is here and you do not need to panic with regard to that. There was an issue on the South Rift where maize was affected by a certain disease. I thank the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) for coming up with a seed or crop which is resistant to this type of disease. This will be availed to the farmers so that they can plant it when the time comes. I want to say that I have learnt. We will take this and I assure you that when we bring the Bill here, you will see quite a number of these issues which you have raised. The Sessional Paper is not cast in stone but it is something which we are bringing to allow us to bring the Bill so that we can deal with these issues. However, I want to assure hon. Members that this is the way to go. We need to empower our farmers by giving them well trained extension officers who know what is supposed to be planted, where and at what time. We also want our farmers not to sit in their homes and wait for the extension officers to go round looking for them. If you want something to be done, go and get them. If they do not come, let us know so that we can take action against them. On the issue of potatoes, there was a Question this morning although it was deferred on the weight of the packaged potatoes. The Government is working on this. We had a stakeholders meeting sometime in May or June and we agreed that the police will now make sure that this weight is being followed. I would like to take this opportunity to tell the farmers not to over pack potatoes to either 200 or 180 kilogrammes. Just pack it into110 kilogrammes and take it to the market. This is because what happens when you bring it to Nairobi when it is packed in 200 kilogrammes bag, it is reduced, shared and another bag is created and those concerned end up making more. The other issue we need to address, not only the Ministry of Agriculture but hon. Members and farmers is that of middlemen who really make a kill while the farmer goes without making anything that is substantial and yet he is the one who has done the work, put in the inputs, done the ploughing, done weeding and even the spraying. The other guy comes and takes up everything. All of us need to stand up and advise our farmers not to listen to these people so that we can move forward. On the issue of the Sugar (Amendment) Bill, that will come to this House. It is ready and we will bring it. The Ministry of Agriculture will also bring all the Bills. We have consolidated the 100 plus Acts into four Acts and we will bring them to the House for you to look at them and improve them. With those few remarks, I would like to say once more, thank you for your contribution."
}