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{
    "id": 470658,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/470658/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 170,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "The Ministry is aware that Kisii is one of those counties that have been affected. As to why it has taken very long to find a cure, this is an area that experts are working on. The disease is a virus. As we all know, viral issues are very complicated. However, the Ministry is doing all that it can with the researchers to find a way of dealing with the disease. Awareness has been created on how to prevent the spread of disease by way of using insecticides and treating seeds. Right now, all seed companies are required to treat their seeds to ensure that they do not carry diseases. Farmers are also encouraged to destroy the entire affected crop. So, efforts are being made. A lot of investment has been put into trying to find a way of dealing with the disease. On the issue of compensation, the Ministry has so far tried to compensate farmers by giving them alternative crop. From this answer, it is evident therefore, that no monetary compensation has been considered. That is the situation. The question as to why the disease is erupting now and whether this is a result of GMOs, these are not new diseases. Scientifically, they are known to have been there. According to this Report, one of the viruses that cause this disease is the sugar cane mosaic virus. This is a pathogen that was first reported in 1930 in East Africa. The virus is also prevalent in many parts of Kenya. This is not a new disease. Its combination that gives rise to the lethal maize nucleases disease is what has complicated matters. As to the issue of the disease being confined to Kenya, the Ministry in this Report has indicated that the disease has also been reported in neighbouring countries of Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. It has also been noticed in other maize growing areas in Kenya. As to Sen. Mungai’s observation that chemical companies are selling chemicals for the purpose of treating the disease, I want to say that this disease is spread by a vector; the insects and so forth. Even at the Ministry, trials are going on to find out what insecticides can best deal with the vector, the thing that spreads, just like mosquitos spread malaria. So, with regard to the most effective pesticides, trials are still being done and they do not have one that they can prescribe, as a Ministry, to be the best. I agree that Migori being a border town to Kisii, Narok and Bomet, has equally been affected. The advice that the Ministry has been giving is that we have tried to look at other food crops like millet and so forth, that are less susceptible."
}