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{
    "id": 399989,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/399989/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 390,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "In Kenya, at times, we do things without carrying out enough research and people end up regretting later. The losses cannot be assessed in monetary terms but they are destructive. I am, therefore, calling upon the Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries to revitalise and to make sure that this becomes a key Ministry in this country. Agriculture is done to ensure food security and it is important to our economy. It also contributes to our economy. We need to have people employed in value addition. You will realise that in the fruit market, we are getting colored water in the name of juices being sold in supermarkets. These juices are either made from India or here in Nairobi. You do not get anything natural. However, if you went to India, you would find natural juices there. You would find people in the streets squeezing juice from sugar cane. The sugar cane is natural and the juice is sold at a very high price. If you go to Istanbul, you will find people squeezing juice from grapes and other fruits. It is important to encourage people to grow fruits and even to pay revenue to the Government. It is important to encourage growing of fruits and the crops. Areas which are suitable for arable farming should be used to grow crops. That is the only way we can sustain ourselves and even maintain our food security. At times, you will wonder how China, a country with 1.3 billion people, can afford to feed its population whereas a country like Kenya which has 42 million people cannot feed her people. The population of Kenya can just be compared to that of a small town in China. We need to be serious. When we visit some of these places, we need to come back and implement those ideas so that we increase some good farming methods. We need to make sure that our country, Kenya, is self sufficient when it comes to food. When a country is food sufficient, then there is no day that the population can be affected by hunger that is caused by drought. We should try to encourage the Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, to introduce and reintroduce what was lost so that we grow crops. I, at times, get shocked when I find women in Kirinyaga trying to sell their fruits on the roadside. There are very many fruits in Kirinyaga like strawberries. However, there is nothing like a cooperative to save the situation."
}