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{
    "id": 334090,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/334090/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 244,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "It is very shameful that year in, year out, we lose many lives due to starvation because of lack of proper planning. This country is capable of producing enough food for her people if only we employ the necessary techniques as envisaged in this Bill. Specifically, northern Kenya was discriminated against. I want to tell you and this can be proved by anybody who has been in that part of the country that, indeed, we have very fertile soils. The only problem is that we rely on rain fed agriculture in most parts of the country. Rainfall in most areas is not reliable. If we embrace the modern irrigation techniques, I want to assure you that northern Kenya is capable of producing enough food, not only for Kenya, but also for export to the rest of the world. I remember in 1985, at a place in northern Kenya called “Uran” we managed to transport several lorries of food crop to Ukambani which was facing serious drought at that time just because we managed to get reliable rainfall. Therefore, I think the initiative of the Minister must be supported. The Government must do everything it takes to ensure that Kenya is food sufficient. Indeed, we must make sure that Kenyans are proud to be in this country. The idea of us relying on relief food where people will always come and make business out of our poor citizens must be a thing of the past. We must fight to end this kind of culture. People must get down to business. The Ministry, as the Minister has proposed, must employ the necessary staff across the counties. I also support the initiative that they will invest a bit in the research and technology department, so that they come up with crops which will do well in certain areas. Mine was to add my voice to that initiative, where they have treated the whole country equally. They have managed to fight the discrimination in that Chapter in the Constitution. They have also put behind us Sessional Paper No.10 of 1965 which borrowed a lot from the one of 1948. As Kenyans and the way our Constitution provides, the whole nation must be treated equally and impartially. That is a very good spirit which we must congratulate the Minister for attempting to correct. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}