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{
    "id": 526398,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/526398/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 230,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Zani",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13119,
        "legal_name": "Agnes Zani",
        "slug": "agnes-zani"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is a very important Bill and I stand to support it. It is a Bill that seeks to ensure that both the quality and the quantity of potatoes which is produced and distributed meet a particular standard. I have seen the passion of the Senator who moved this Bill. I have also seen that passion when he is talking to the media and also from farmers who are very excited that, finally, they might have a way forward as far as production and quality of potatoes is concerned. I just want to say that potato is a very important crop employing almost up to 2.5 million people. It is actually the second employer after maize. Even as we talk about distribution, packaging and the people who are going to partake of this product, it is very important to note that it is an income earner to 2.5 million people across the entire population. It is cultivated by over 800,000 growers, most of them being small holders. That means that they have to think about all the specific aspects of the growth of the crop on their own, how they are going to till the land, how they are going to get fertilisers and so on. That is why the issue of quality becomes very important. This means that everybody will be doing things in a different way. For example, the quality of seed will depend on the capability of that particular small holder. It is important to regularize that particular sector so that from the beginning, it is possible that everybody knows exactly what standard is expected of them. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the whole issue of production currently is worth about Kshs50 billion and this figure has been increasing over time. Therefore, it is very critical that the sector is looked into. It actually means that about 35,000 hectares of potatoes are grown annually in Kenya. Therefore, this makes Kenya a high potential for potato farming. This Bill is very critical at such a moment because we are talking about it cutting across the various sectors and for various people. For a long time, it has been very obvious that Kenya lacks quality potato seeds and that is another issue that has been canvassed in this Bill. The potato industry also faces many challenges that make the sector rot with a lot of issues. It is important that we contextualize the addressing of this within legislation and within law so that all the various players know exactly what to do. There is a formation of a council and also a committee; the council is at a national level and the committee at the county level. I also hope that in terms of castigating and in terms of the regulation between the two bodies, they will be able to coordinate sufficiently so that the various responsibilities that they have been given as per this Bill can be shared across the various levels of involvement. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, right from the onset there is a clear clarification of the various terms that are going to be used. Every time I see a potato, I only think about that one component that I see as a potato but I see here, the Bill is very scientific; it is known as solanum tuberosum, which includes the shoots, the tubers and so on. This clarification is very important because it goes more broadly to the product, the level and the sustainability of that product and how it should be put across. The Bill states about five or six different objectives; to regulate production, packaging, processing, promote production and use by farmers, improve production in terms of quality, improve efficiency of potato farming, enhanced productivity and also 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."
}