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"id": 381113,
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"speaker_name": "Sen. Obure",
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"speaker": {
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"legal_name": "Christopher Mogere Obure",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to second this Motion. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, you will agree that in the last few days, we have debated in this House very high quality Motions. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we all agreed that we cannot be self sufficient in food if we relied entirely on rain-fed agriculture. This is because weather patterns change and the rain does not come when it is expected. When we experience periods of drought, we are unable to produce food. Therefore, families and the whole country go hungry. As a result, we are all subjected to the indignity which arises when we are not able to feed ourselves. From that perspective, this is a very important Motion because we cannot rely on rain for the production of food and all the water we need. It is, therefore, imperative that, we, as a nation, move away from the reliance on rain. We cannot carry out agricultural activities solely based on rain water. Therefore, I want to agree with the recent initiatives by the national Government to introduce irrigation and to put large tracts of our land under irrigation for the production of food in order for us to become food self sufficient, not just for local consumption, but also for export. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we know that irrigation will be productive. So, if we go into irrigation, we will succeed for sure. We need to preserve water, rivers and lakes. It is from these rivers that we will develop dams. With dams, we can carry out irrigation and put a lot of our land under irrigation. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we just saw what happened in Hola about two years ago. At that time, the then Coalition Government decided to put some land under irrigation using the National Youth Service (NYS). At the end of that experiment, we produced so much food that we did not have sufficient storage space for it. Therefore, we know, for sure, that irrigation is good because it enhances our food security. This Motion has been brought here in very good time because our rivers and all the water we are able to harvest can be used to increase food production and to enhance livestock production in this country. Unfortunately, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are all aware of the serious encroachment which has taken place along our rivers. We are aware that people have moved in to clear the natural vegetation along the rivers and, instead, to plant exotic trees The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}