Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 62188,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/62188/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 377,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "farmers could afford. During that year, farmers did not get any fertilizer. Therefore, the yield in tea, which is a main export commodity, was low and even now, it is still below what is expected. It is critical that something is done immediately as a strategic measure. This is rather unfortunate for the nation. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we are all aware of the fertilizer that was brought in by individuals who were contracted by the Government to support the private sector. Why is the Government not taking any steps to ensure that there is a factory in place? A factory would bring about stability of prices in the market? All that is required is for the farmer to know how much it would cost. Recently, we heard farmers from Rift Valley complaining that it costs a lot of money to till an acre of maize. The price they are being paid for one bag of maize does not even cover that cost. The major input they use all the time is fertilizer. Therefore, it is critical that the Government, so as to stabilize the prices, sets up a factory and supports it. That way, farmers will be predicting what they will earn from planting 100 acres of maize. Farmers would also predict how much they would spend on fertilizer. However, when farmers prepare their land for planting, by the time they go to purchase fertilizer, the prices they find are different. If the price is Kshs800 or Kshs1,000 per a bag of fertilizer at the time they are preparing the farm, those prices shoot to either Kshs2,000 or Kshs4,000. Farmers have no one to finance them. They do not also have any schemes to finance them. Banks do not support farmers in terms of finance. In the long run, it is not only farmers who suffer but the whole country. We end up having no food to feed our people. Kenyans are hard working. They have a good attitude towards work. We have problems in this country because farmers are not taken care of by the Government. It is the responsibility of the Government to provide the very basic things to farmers. It is the responsibility of the Government to provide fertilizer. Farmers are not getting the right support from the Government. If you look at the multi-national companies which are agro-based - either in the tea sub-sector or in the flower sector - you will find that they either purchase their fertilizer from abroad or from brokers. The overall cost of production is always very high. If the production cost is low, workers would even have their salaries increased. This is a challenge we have, as a nation. We must take care of the small-scale famers. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I come from Kisii where most people have either half an acre or one acre piece of land. The poverty level in that place is increasing because farmers cannot get good yields from their farms. The main reason for that is because they cannot afford fertilizer. They cannot afford fertilizer because, one, the prices are very erratic. You cannot plan because you do not know what the prices will be. In case of large scale farmers, they cannot also prepare their farms. You cannot even predict how much money you will earn because you do not know what the price of fertilizer will be at the end of the planting season. It is critical for the Government to take the necessary steps to support this Motion to set up a factory to stabilize the prices of farm input. When we import fertilizer from overseas--- For instance, the prices of petroleum products are going up. Equally, the price of fertilizer will go up. What will happen is that the big businessmen will import fertilizer and increase its price with a view of making profit. We are turning our farmers into slaves. Something needs to be done to stabilize the fertilizer"
}