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"id": 508844,
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"content": "government has announced, as the minimum price, the farmer has a profit because the profit is already built in that price. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, when the farmer is given freedom to sell his produce to any buyer, but in case there are no buyers who are interested in that crop that time, then the government steps in as the buyer of last resort. It buys at minimum price which it has set. Therefore, there is no way the farmer in China can farm at a lost because the government underwrites. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, that is why I was saying, if we are to succeed, especially in ensuring food security in this country, the government has to do a little more. Indeed, agriculture is the backbone and prime mover of Kenya’s economy. It is the major employer; employing about 75 per cent of Kenyans. It is the main income earner contributing about 40 per cent of our national exports. Indeed, what we do not talk about, agriculture is what provides food for the President, beggars, Members of Parliament and everybody. In terms of its contribution to this economy, agriculture supersedes all other forms, including education and health because, unless people have eaten, they cannot even understand what the teachers are talking about. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is a shame that this Government is not allocating adequate funds to support agriculture. Right now, we are only getting four per cent of the national budget allocated to agriculture, whereas about 30 per cent goes to security and about 25 per cent or so, to education. Agriculture should be seen as public infrastructure; just like roads or the Standard Gauge Railway. Just like we invest in energy, we should also be investing similar huge amounts in agriculture. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if we have this massive form of investment, then we can talk of adequate subsidy of fertilizers and foodstuff to our farmers and we can feed this country. There is no magic in this. Bingu wa Mutharika defied the World Bank and those other foreign ideologies and decided to subsidize agriculture. In a short while, Malawi was able to export food to this country. Therefore, what we need is political will, political commitment and the people to drive this agenda, so that the farmer’s voice is heard. We need to adequately motivate the farmer to produce for this country. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o talked about Ken- Ren Fertilizer Plant. There was a vision in the 1960s and 1970s to have a fertilizer factory in this country. Almost 40 years later, we are still talking about it, but that dream has not been realised. The question is: Are we really serious? Were we really out to set up a factory or not? Even if the American stole some money which was meant to set up Ken Ren, did he also steal our dream? Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I was with Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o in the Parliamentary Select Committee on Anti-Corruption in the 1990s. We investigated Ken- Ren Fertilizer Plant as well. I think time has come for us to stop crying. Time has come for us to do something about it. I am happy that the new Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has decided to support the establishment of a fertilizer plant somewhere in Rift Valley. Our hope is that this is not going to be another Ken-Ren Fertilizer and this time round, we are going to have a fertilizer factory. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, regarding the board which is being created, I think we have not yet internalized the facts that we are in a devolved system of government. 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."
}