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{
    "id": 332521,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/332521/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 420,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Kosgei",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Agriculture",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 59,
        "legal_name": "Sally Jepngetich Kosgei",
        "slug": "sally-kosgei"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was saying there has been need to reform the sector and change the laws for serious reasons. One that I gave yesterday is that the sector is burdened by laws which are no longer useful from the colonial times up to the 1940s. We want to change it to be in conformity with modern times. Furthermore, over the years, many parastatals were formed because at that time, this was the way to drive the economy forward. However, there is now need to rationalize these parastatals because they no longer serve the purposes that they were intended to do. In addition, after the liberalization, most of these parastatals lost some functions such as marketing and development of some of those private sector areas. The private sector took over and it is, therefore, not sensible to continue to have those laws. I will give you one or two examples. If you look at the Sisal Board, for example, it was once massive, but it has now got only 12 people working there. You find that replicated in a few of those crops. Each one of these crops has its own law and, therefore, for these small areas to operate, it is too expensive. They cannot even pay for their audit facilities. Thirdly, as you know, we are required by the new Constitution to align the laws that we have to serve efficiently the devolved Government. This is why we seek to have these new laws. In a nutshell, the purpose of these laws for this sector are to do away with outdated laws and make it possible for farming to be done as a business, to rationalize the State parastatals and be able to regulate them from one sector. For example, if you are in county B, you should not have to go to ten or 12 different places to obtain licences to do what you are supposed to do. So this Bill seeks to harmonize what we have and make it up to date. For purposes of clarity, I would say this again which I said yesterday and that is: Livestock is completely removed from this Bill. This was the view of the relevant Ministry and also a subject of intense lobbying and it is best the less said about it the better. For me and for the Ministry of Agriculture, we are very comfortable to get the laws for the Ministry of Agriculture to move forward in keeping with the Constitution. Alongside that, we also have discussed with the Committee of Agriculture. Livestock and Cooperatives and decided to remove the Dairy Board because that belongs to the Ministry of Livestock. In the Ministry of Agriculture, we have in the Committee removed the NCPB from this list mainly because that is under restructuring and it is already being privatized in keeping with the modern times. Our Bill will be known as SAFA and not ALFA. The Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, my friend, Mr. Mututho, I am sure will confirm what I have said. This Bill extensively covers all areas of crop production and marketing. I beg to move and request my friend, Prof. Anyang’-Nyong’o, to second it."
}