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{
    "id": 467731,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/467731/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 218,
    "type": "other",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am talking about these abattoirs because we need to take them closer to where the raw materials are. It does not make sense for a cow to be transported from Garissa on bad roads all the way from Garissa to the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) in Athi River. The reason we have the coffee and tea factories where they are is because the raw materials are found there. There is no tea factory in Samburu or Laikipia counties. They are found where the raw materials are. We are urging that the county governments tap into the livestock that is in their areas to ensure that it empowers the people and improves the livelihoods of people in those areas. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, secondly, it will also create employment for our young people. Once the factories are in place, the young people who have been herding these cows for the longest time and not noticing their value, will, finally, get to know that what we are herding is something that can be of economic value. Only then will also the pastoralists realize that their cattle or livestock have to work for them also as human beings. As it is right now, cattle rustling is rampant in most of those areas. It is as if human beings are living at the expense of those cows every other day. So, of what value is that cow really if we are just chasing each other and even losing lives because of it? If cows could talk I think that they would be very sad. The same cow can be taken from Turkana and pass through Samburu, Garissa and find its way to Athi River. It is time that those cows started working for us and building this country. I really hope that the county governments, including the county assembly members and governors, even as they prioritized what they need to do, will take livestock farming very seriously. I know that there are countries in Africa which are doing it very well. For example, Botswana has taken livestock farming very seriously. We need to take it seriously so that pastoralist counties are also appreciated. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for the longest time, the pastoralist areas have been referred to as marginalized, which is true. But also sometimes, people marginalize you when they do not see any value that you are bringing. If the county governments prioritized livestock farming, then we would say, for example, that we need a good road to transport the livestock products. Let me just pose a question that a friend of mine has been posing for the longest time. How much is a hide or a skin? We sell a piece of the hide of a goat between Kshs50 or Kshs100. The hide for the cow is sold in kilogrammes. A kilogramme of hide is sold at Kshs250. These are the kind of prices offered by the middlemen level. These hides are used to make shoes. How many pairs of shoes can one cow hide make? Let use Sen. (Prof) Lonyangapuo’s shoe size; it will make five or six pairs of his shoes. How much would you buy those pair of shoes for when you go to the shop? For men, it will go for almost Kshs10,000 or Kshs15,000? While the person who sold that cow hide, sold it for Kshs50 or Kshs250. It is time that county governments in pastoralist areas started looking at how those herds of cattle being taken care of by these young people can generate sufficient income to improve their lives. It is a question that we seriously have to start asking ourselves even at the national level as we think about improving agriculture. We have to seriously think about improving livestock farming in our country. When we are talking about value addition, what we are saying is that we have to add value. You know sometimes in our country, it is not that we do not know what we need to do. That is the saddest part of everything. We keep on saying: “We have the potential. These areas have 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."
}