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{
    "id": 468363,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/468363/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 222,
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    "content": "They pay you well for it. Kenya needs that food and must pay well for it because we import it. Sometimes we look for maize in South Africa and Brazil, but it is not sufficient. Then we go hopping from country to country in search of maize. Sometimes the prices escalate beyond out capacity. It is a shame that we can use a lot of money to import maize when we could use a fraction of it to do irrigation. We can get everybody involved in employment and also get food security for our people. So, I want to thank Sen. Haji for bringing this Motion. Really, what he has said which is very good is that there will be no conflict over land because there is sufficient land. The last speaker also mentioned that the land is generally flat. Therefore, irrigation is easier and cheaper. Since there is a lot of sun there, sometimes irrigation will be very expensive. This is an open area. There will be a lot of evaporation and you have to pump more water or direct more water that way. We are now told that, actually, drip irrigation is the in thing, so that evaporation does not hurt the irrigation project. Again, a lot of other foods could be grown. I am glad that we are talking of fruits. I have been to Garissa where Sen. Haji comes from. I know that just near Garissa, there are a lot of vegetables and fruits being grown on a small scale because there has not been a major investment by the Government. I think that we can use what we have because God has been good to us, as a country. We have long rivers going through the country which we are not using. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do not want to sound racist, but I was talking to an Asian friend of mine in Kilifi. He told me: “Look at this River called Sabaki. It pours so much water into the sea which is wasted. What is wrong with you as a country?” I think there is something seriously wrong with us. But this is where to start. It is good that this Motion actually supports the manifestos of the competing large parties or coalitions in this country. It actually shows that the Government is now supporting it so that they can move with speed. What if we also invited other partners because we may not have enough money to do this? Why do we not invite Israel and give them a million acres somewhere to do farming, feed our people and also export. Then we will get employment for our people. Qatar asked for 10,000 acres sometimes back. I think we even agreed to give them land in Tana River, but they fizzled away. We could still talk to partners. Africa is now becoming the partner of the world because we are the only ones who still have land that can be cultivated throughout the year. Europe does not have that luxury because of the weather patterns. The county governments can invite partners and give them land. For example, Homa Bay County where I come from, has already done that. There are investors who have told us that they are going to do an agro-city. They want to invest Kshs500 trillion on agriculture. We will get employment for our people. There will be transfer of technology and a lot of other very good things that will happen because of that partnership. As the Government starts this, we should open our eyes to these partnerships that can help us grow food in areas which are really, otherwise, very fertile, except for water. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Ukambani area is very fertile. Where there is water, a lot of food is being grown there. Wazungu made people dig a canal across River Athi and Tana River. In that area where they forced us to dig the canals, you cannot get land there. It is very prime land. But in other areas where irrigation has been done, land is 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."
}