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{
    "id": 763261,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/763261/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 187,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. John Muchiri Nyaga",
    "speaker_title": "The Member for Manyatta Constituency",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2245,
        "legal_name": "John Muchiri Nyaga",
        "slug": "john-muchiri-nyaga"
    },
    "content": "First, I thank you for having been elected to the Speaker’s Panel. Also, allow me to thank the great people of Manyatta Constituency for giving me an opportunity to represent them in this House for the second time. That is a clear testimony that they have confidence in me. I promise them that I will ably represent them in the House and outside. Back to the Motion, sugar-cane farmers are like any other farmers that we have in Kenya. They are having a policy problem. When you mention coffee, tea, pyrethrum or any other crop, it is a problem because you will find that, regardless of developing some of those policies, our farmers have continued to suffer in the hands of cartels. So, we also need law enforcement to check what is happening. I think the Cabinet Secretary (CS) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has a lot of work to do. It is like coffee farmers in my place. You will find that farmers from two societies have not been paid for the last two years. Those farmers have children in schools. They also have their needs like going to the hospitals and fulfilling many things. When you do not pay a farmer, you are killing that farmer. It is unfortunate that agriculture is devolved. But, the national Government has an obligation to check what is happening in our counties in order to protect our farmers. Therefore, it is a duty of this House to come up with policies to safeguard and protect farmers. Even macadamia farmers are not fetching good prices. There was a policy that was done by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, but it was in the favour of the processors. So, you find that farmers are left nowhere. We will be creating committees in this House. I beg Members of Parliament and those who will have a chance to serve in the Departmental Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Cooperatives - Last time, I had requested to be in that Committee because my background is on co-operatives - not to be compromised. I have petitioned twice about the Kenya Planters Co-operative Union (KPCU) and coffee farmers. I will also petition about the farmers of macadamia. But, when the petition is taken to the relevant Committee, a lot of hullabaloo happens. You cannot know what happens in that Committee. Another Committee which was moribund – I am sorry to call it “moribund” is the Committee on Implementation. After discussing and debating this Motion, it will be taken to the Committee on Implementation and nothing will come out. So, I hope this is not showbiz. We are spending taxpayers’ money. We are paid to be in this House and, therefore, people who elect us are expecting us, when we debate a Motion like this, to make sure that it is implemented. With those few remarks, I support. Thank you."
}