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"id": 391406,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/391406/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Sen. Kagwe",
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"legal_name": "Mutahi Kagwe",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Motion and also appreciate Sen. Billow’s contribution. Indeed, Sen. Billow has some ideas that can make a lot of difference in the Motion in question. But I do not support all the things that Sen. Billow has said, especially on subsidizing agriculture. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issues of subsidizing in areas of agriculture are matters global. Indeed, as an individual, during your term as Ambassador in Brussels, I am sure that you interrogated a lot of issues to do with the World Trade Organization (WTO), where it is proposed, for example, that subsidies in agriculture should be removed by the WTO. You will remember that actually the failure of the Doha round of talks came about because of the attempt by the developing countries to make the developed countries stop subsidizing their agriculture. In fact, in terms of subsidies, a Japanese cow is subsidized with at least US$5 per day. A French cow earns Two Euros per day by way of subsidies to the farmers. Consequently, it is not a strange thing for us to ask ourselves if, indeed, we were to subsidize fertilizer, whether they would actually be losing money at the end of the day as the Treasury. I oppose it and say that it is not true. You will earn that money through increased volumes, because of the use of fertilizer. The mere purpose of use of fertilizer is to increase the production of coffee, tea and other crops that we subsidize. The purpose, therefore, ultimately, is to increase the volume, so that the country can earn more in foreign exchange and the farmer can also earn money. But we must also not lose sight of what we are trying to do by the end of day. By the end of the day what we are trying to do is increase the farmers’ earning. The fertilizer subsidy is simply a very small means to the same end that we are trying to achieve. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would propose that in addition to the measure of subsidizing agriculture and fertilizers, we need to think very broadly about value adding in agriculture. The farmer will never achieve the ends or earn the amount of money that they can earn, until we value-add on our coffee and tea. Until such a time that we will keep the jobs that are created by tea and coffee in our country, we will never benefit as a society to the extent that we can. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think that it has been proposed that the Mover should bring a Bill. In that Bill, I would propose to Sen. Muthama, that he includes the fact that Kenya should not export raw materials in terms of coffee and tea. It is not without the bounds of imagination to see a situation where Brazilian coffee will be imported into Kenya. It is not Kenya’s coffee to be blended with Brazilian coffee in London, but Brazilian coffee to be imported into Kenya, blended here in Kenya and then, exported to the countries that want to buy the blended coffee. Why should we send our coffee to 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."
}