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{
    "id": 720317,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/720317/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 152,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Abdinoor",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13135,
        "legal_name": "Abdi Noor Mohammed Ali",
        "slug": "abdi-noor-mohammed-ali"
    },
    "content": "been investing there. In the last two decades, the per capital productivity in Kenya has been stagnant due to poor governance of the agriculture sector by the Livestock Department. There has been lack of capacity in the private sector. The Government has never attempted to build the capacity of the poor pastoralists in Turkana, Samburu, Garissa, Mandera, Wajir, Isiolo and other ASAL areas in terms of investing in that sector. Poor marketing strategies implemented by the successive regimes have also brought down the entire livestock sector. The Government has introduced authorities to regulate and monitor agricultural productivity in this country. The cotton industry has the Cotton Dairy Development Board. The same applies to the tea, coffee and pyrethrum industries. The livestock sector has been ignored; no one has invested in it. The Government has severally tried to bring blue prints to improve the sector. We have the Vision 2030, the National Policy for Development in Northern Kenya, the Livestock Development Policy, among other policies. However, these policies have never been implemented. The livestock chain includes various things that can be produced locally and exported. It encompasses live animals, meat, skins and hides, hooves, bones and milk. Our neighbouring countries, like Somalia and Ethiopia, are exporting such items. Somalia, without a structured government, exports our animals all the way from the North Eastern region to the Middle East. We can do the same but bureaucratic red tape and the approach that the successive regimes in this country have had towards the livestock sector is worrying. The Bill seeks to address the marketing weaknesses in the livestock sector, mainly the meat industry. The livestock and livestock products trade does not result in sufficient income for livestock producers and traders in Kenya. The current market system we have for the livestock sector consists of private butchers, traders and transporters as the main actors in that sector leaving all other stakeholders such as the Government and other machineries. This type of a marketing system is very responsive to market forces. It implies that the market is relatively sensitive to prices. Whenever the prices go down, it will immediately correspond to a change in the consumption and this is very worrying in this industry. This is happening because of lack of regulation, proper structures and legal framework that can oversee the sector. If I go direct to the Bill, what I am trying to do is create a livestock marketing and products development board which is going to regulate and oversee the entire livestock sector. As we all know, under the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, livestock is devolved. It is a function of the county governments and county governments cannot invest in the livestock sector because of lack of authority and proper structures at the national level. This brings a lot of problems to the pastoralist communities in this country like lack of markets for them locally and internationally. What happens is when there is no demand in the local market, the butchers and traders collude and import animals from the neighbouring countries, which will make the market stagnant and prices come down immediately. This is happening because of lack of regulation in our country and we must provide an institution that can regulate the livestock sector in this country. The livestock marketing board will have a membership of nine. Some of the functions of the board will be to regulate the livestock and livestock products development and marketing industry in this country. It will collaborate with the ministry for the time being responsible for trade to promote the livestock products through agreements between countries. The biggest problem we are facing is we cannot export any animals to the Middle East now because of the bureaucratic documentation somebody needs to acquire before he exports a single kilogramme to Dubai or other Middle East countries. Ethiopia, Uganda and Somalia are exporting to the same countries and earning a lot of foreign exchange. The Government has invested heavily in tourism The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}