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{
    "id": 30365,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/30365/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 347,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kigen",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 44,
        "legal_name": "Luka Kipkorir Kigen",
        "slug": "luka-kigen"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, first and foremost, I stand to support this Motion. I wish to start by thanking the Mover for coming up with this Motion to persuade the House to look into the affairs of the KFA. The KFA is a household name even today when it is on its knees. It is a body that was started by farmers way back in 1900. The farmers who started this body had a great vision of making farming a business. They started by setting up KFA depots all the way from Mombasa to the western part of Kenya and everywhere else in this country that was agriculturally viable. The KFA, with that kind of network, worked with sister bodies like the KCC, the NCPB and at that time, farming was the only venture to go into. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for many years, if you consider the 70s, 80s and up to the 90s, we used to pride that the backbone of our economy was agriculture. The materials that went into farming were quality materials sourced from factories by the KFA. For a long time, we did not hear of what we hear these days; that farm inputs like seeds are manufactured behind shops. Since the collapse of the KFA, we have heard strange stories. Today, we are asking the Ministry to assist the KFA by finding a way of getting rid of the Kshs1.4 billion that has got the KFA on its knees. The Minister of State for Special Programmes has said that they are feeding over 10 per cent of our population every month. The food that we are using to feed our people is obtained from other countries, mainly abroad. We are spending all our time and money sourcing for food from farmers abroad instead of reviving bodies like the KFA which, indeed, have the expertise. If you look at the people who were employed by the KFA right from the ones that are today demanding for their pay and those who are still in employment, these are people who had the farming know-how. They are so useful that if we made use of them, I can assure you that this country is going to produce sufficient food for our people. The story of going out in search of food will be a story of the past. The Government of Kenya is going out there to build huge dams which are intended to provide water for irrigation. For that reason, we should revive these bodies like the KFA so that with their expertise, they can go out there and get the right inputs for our farmers. I want to thank my colleague for bringing this Motion before the House so that we can urge the Government to provide funds to this body which is very important."
}