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{
    "id": 363279,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/363279/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 229,
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    "content": "and beans. Those are the people feeding us, and not the people who do farming on large scale; they do not benefit the local person. The other thing is what the President said; he said that one of the economic pillars of this country is agriculture. As one hon. Member has said, it is important that we have our priorities right. Why would you want to spend so much on irrigating one million acres when can actually utilize that money to get the fertilizers, seeds and even a mechanized way of doing things. So, I request this house to look at these things afresh. We said that the billions of shillings will be spent on the one million acres should be spent on making the acres that are available, and which do not need irrigation at this particular time, usable. Let the farmers get that money directly, because that is the only way it will benefit them. For example, there is a place like Narok; we are also the blessed food basket of this country, because we produce barley, maize and wheat. But you will find that the local farmer is not benefitting; instead it is foreigners who beneit. It is not even Kenyans, but South Africans who are benefitting. This is because we cannot accumulate all what we have. What happens is that we are left with nothing. We go to the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), we got our loans, but we do not get fertilizer and certified seeds on time. Then what happens? We eventually lose, and we are always being chased around by the AFC because of loans. We are now saying that, since we are Kenyans and the coffee loss and other losses have been waived, let losses of farmers in Narok be waived; they are also Kenyans and are entitled to this benefit just like anybody else. That is what we are saying. I would like to say that I support this Motion. Let us have an independent board for distribution of fertilizer and many other things. I think the economy of this country is suffering because of the cartels that benefit at the expense of the ordinary person. Therefore, I would like to say that I support; this is something that every Kenyan who thinks about the ordinary man should support. Thank you very much."
}