Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 608157,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/608157/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 342,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "In other words, the yields are abnormally very high meaning that the produce must be taken care of by researchers to make sure that it is transported to the market quickly before it rots because they are perishable. They are also bulky and need big storage. Since transport must be quick, good roads are needed, like a railway line or a tarmac road linking distant markets like Mombasa and Nairobi. For us to achieve this, we shall incur an extra cost. So, why do we allow farmers to suffer while knowing too well that if the same produce is preserved, it can feed Kenyans for a long time. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we need to be careful about rewarding people who work very hard and provide an alternative food crop for them. We have heard how a plate of chips in Kenyan hotels can go as high as Kshs2,000 while a bag of potatoes can come down to Kshs100 or Kshs200 due to over-yielding and over-production. Where the crop is over-produced, the Government should come up with measures on how they can preserve the same and how they can quickly transport it to distant markets. If this is not done, the people will remain poor even if they are great producers of potatoes. That is what this Bill is talking about. The spirit of the Bill is to make sure that the farmers who grow potatoes should be seen as a group providing a great solution to hunger, that is, food security and should be rewarded for working hard. When they are not producing potatoes, the rest of the time, they should be compensated for the time they are not growing the crop as it is done in the United States of America (USA) for cotton farmers when the crop fails due to boll weevil infestation or weather and climate problems. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as we support this Bill, we should think about ways of preserving the crop once it is harvested. We should do research and come with a variety which lasts long. We have developed a variety of tomatoes which can last for about three months after it has been harvested. We need to come up with recent research methods where the potato crop can last longer after it has been harvested so that it can reach the market in good condition. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is also important to note that every area has its crop culture. We have areas producing wheat. It is true that there is an area where wheat is grown which is not good for potatoes. There are areas where maize is grown where maybe wheat or even beans cannot do well. There are other areas which produce coconut or palm trees and they cannot produce other crops. There is competition in the environment. Therefore, where we have natural selection of, for example, potato and maybe other crops, the Government should identify through their own agricultural research stations and come up with a way they can support the crop. With those remarks, I beg to support."
}