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"content": "I do not think that we should be following that programme blindly. We, as Senators, should question the logic of that project and find out what we are trying to achieve through it. We might create a very huge tower of Babel comprising so many parastatals which do not talk to one another. There is still a case for specialization. In the area of input, especially fertilisers, we need a specialized agency because this is one of the areas where we have not performed very well. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am also happy that this board is also going to deal with animal foodstuff. In my own county, Meru County, we have done very well in aquaculture. We have many fish ponds. We are even building a fish factory in Meru. We want to be one of the leading counties in fish farming in this country. However, we are facing serious challenges in fish feed. Many of our fish farmers are feeding fish on chicken feed because fish feed is not available. Secondly, some of the feed that we get is of no nutritional value. Therefore, I think having a body to regulate and standardize animal feed in this country is very timely. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there is the issue of fertilizer subsidy. In the past, there was only one crop which was targeted for fertilizer subsidy in the country and that was maize. In our region, we used to hear that the government is subsidizing fertilizers for maize. We have seen recent movement by the Government to try to cover other crops as well. I think the highest consumption of fertilizer in this country is in our region; that is, tea farming. However, the tea farmers have not benefited from Government’s fertilizer subsidy since it was established. There is need for us to be fair in distribution of national resources, including the fertilizer subsidy so that all the farmers of Kenya can benefit. The fertilizer subsidy should not only cover maize, but also tea, coffee, beans, potatoes and other crops that our farmers are interested in. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we know that, as Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o said, we did very well in the 1960s when Government was massively supporting agriculture in this country. We failed miserably in 1980s, when Government was mislead by the World Bank and other Briton Woods Institutions to withdraw from agriculture on the basis that it was not the business of Government to involve itself in economic activities. However, the reason Kenya and, indeed, Africa has not been feeding itself is precisely that. Peasant agriculture is not a viable form of agriculture. The only way it can be made viable is for the Government to carry the farmer on its back. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, our Committee has just returned from a study tour in China and India. This logic was explained to us. In China, both the national and regional governments subsidize their farmers. They do it this way; they look at all the inputs that the farmer requires. We are talking about fertilizers, pesticides and high yielding seeds. All those are provided to a farmer at a subsidized rate, first, by the national government which gives their subsidy of 30 per cent. Then, the regional governments also give their own subsidy; sometimes at the tune of 20 per cent and 30 per cent. So, the farmer is able to access those inputs at half the cost that he should get in the market. Then, the government goes a step further; it looks at cost of those inputs plus the labour that the farmer is putting in then it puts a mark up and creates that as the minimum selling price for the crop whether it is rice or wheat. Therefore, when the produce is sold at what the 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."
}