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{
    "id": 571937,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/571937/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 238,
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    "content": "In a county like Homa Bay where agriculture is one of the main activities, we expect that this university college, once established, shall be a leading centre that will focus on agriculture, aquaculture and horticulture. The fish stock in Lake Victoria is dwindling, yet there are certain basic innovations that can be undertaken to ensure that our fishermen do not have to pray that they are going to find some fish in the lake. One innovation that Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University has been doing in Lake Victoria is to try and encourage cage fish farming. When you go to the lake, you put in a cage and fingerlings. You feed them in a natural environment. This will ensure that everytime you go to the lake, you are sure of what you are going to catch. There is a lot of uncertainty in the fishing business, because a fisherman’s biggest tool is prayer. He prays that when he goes to the lake, there will be some fish close to the traps that he has set. But through cage fish farming, fishing becomes more predictable and can be run as a business and provide employment for our women and youth. These are some of the areas of research that we expect when we set up universities at the counties. We expect that they will look at those local problems. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Lambwe Valley is one area that used to be infested by tsetse flies. In fact, our political history has it that the Nandis who resisted British occupation were sent to Lambwe Valley, so that they could be dealt with by the tsetse flies. Many of them died there. We need to start some groundbreaking research on tsetse fly, particularly from the university that will be positioned in a county that suffers from tsetse fly and trypanosomiasis. In Homa Bay County, we have some of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates. So, when we set up a local university, we expect that we will put a lot of focus in doing research to find ways of reducing the spread and change certain cultural practices that make some parts of this country more vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS scourge. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in my view, agriculture is one of the best ways of creating employment in this country. Already it is the leading employer in this nation. Unfortunately, agriculture seems to be thriving on auto pilot. We are not investing or doing enough research. Even the little research that we do, we do not convert it to practical solutions for our farmers. So, when we have more universities in this country, I hope that we will invest in trying to come up with solutions to the problems that directly affect our people. Allow me to talk about the quota system of education in this nation. I said this cognizant that we have students sitting in the Public Gallery. The quota system of education is a double-edged sword. You can imagine a young child born in Kabondo and goes to nursery school in Kabondo, goes to primary school in Kabondo, goes to high School in Kabondo and then goes to Kabondo University in the same village. When that person comes to Nairobi, and he or she is told that there is someone from Nyamira, he or she might believe in old stereotypes and think that the person from Nyamira might even eat him or her up. When he comes to Nairobi and finds people who subscribe to different religious beliefs, that is the starting point of some of the intolerance that you see in this 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."
}