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{
    "id": 47065,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/47065/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 363,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Otichilo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 131,
        "legal_name": "Wilber Ottichilo Khasilwa",
        "slug": "wilber-ottichilo"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will not spend a lot of time. I want to thank the Committee for an excellent work. I want to thank the Chairman for presenting this Report in a very clear way. Secondly, I want to thank all those who have contributed to this Motion. I think they have said everything, and there is no need for us to keep repeating it. Thirdly, I want to say, in a nutshell, that anybody who has tried to go into sugar- cane farming is a very poor person. It is no wonder that people in western Kenya and Nyanza are very poor despite having plenty of rain and good land. The sugar-cane industry is an industry that has made these communities very poor. All the reasons why these communities are poor have been given. So, we need to revive this industry. What is the way forward? I think a lot has been given on the way forward. I want to say one thing, which none of the contributors has said. Without investing in research, we are not going to improve the sugar-cane production. We have put so much money in all other activities, and forgotten that if we have to improve sugar- cane production we have to invest in research. The Sugar Research Institute in Kibos has no funding. It has no credible scientists. It has no scientists who can stay there. Most scientists leave because they are not paid well. They do not have facilities to carry out research. If we are going to improve the sugar-cane industry in this country, we must put a lot of money into research, so that we can come up with varieties of sugar-cane that can mature in less than a year. This is being done, for example, in Sudan; this is very important in sugar production. They put so much money in research. That is one area on which I would like to see the Ministry putting more emphasis. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is the issue of privatization and I do not think I want to belabor it. It has been clearly said that this industry must be privatized, if people are to gain from it. Lastly, is about a new Act; we need a new Sugar Act. I am happy that the Minister has said that they are in the process and in the next 30 days we shall have a draft which we can discuss and approve, so that this industry can be revived. With those few remarks, I want to support this Motion."
}