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{
    "id": 770020,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/770020/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 243,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "content": "Therefore, that is the area that we should focus on. Irrigation will recruit the land mass of Kenya, both in the arid and semi-arid regions that have not been catered for into full food production potential. Therefore, we have everything that is going for us, but we have to do it right. We have to get our legislation right – and I believe that legislation is going to come here – because the bulk of irrigation is going to affect our counties. Therefore, we need to make the enabling legislation and see how the functions already assigned to county governments and to the ones assigned to the National Government, how that inter-governmental relations coordination is going to work out for us to get the full potential and the benefit both for counties and for also our National government. Yesterday, I heard Sen. Sakaja saying – well I did say it also – that when you talk in terms of the GDP of this nation, 60 per cent of is contributed by Nairobi. He was, in fact, rooting that we should have more investments in Nairobi so that we can increase the GDP potential. I am against that kind of policy. We must actually start decentralizing some of this GDP. One area in which we are going to effectively decentralize this kind of increased GDP production is through agriculture. One way of doing effective agriculture is through the irrigated schemes. First of all, irrigation schemes will help create job opportunities, so you stem off rural-urban migration. Two, they will help to increase the incomes of the families, there is food sufficiency and, therefore, they are robust in tilling their land. That is a benefit to us because their health is taken care of. The third element is that we will benefit from value addition of agricultural produce. When we start getting value addition, you are entering the realm of industrialization. Therefore once industrialization is incorporated in our counties and in our rural settings, we are then able to increase our GDP more than Nairobi itself. Once we have a clear cut policy put together for all the 47counties, we are then able to increase the potential of this nation. Therefore, we shall be a net exporter of food rather than a net importer of food. Associated with this irrigation is the water catchment. I had some great difficulties when I was the Ambassador for United Nations Environment (UNEP) negotiating for the riparian states on the issue of River Nile waters. Now, 60 to 70 per The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}