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{
    "id": 774105,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/774105/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 236,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Seneta",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 611,
        "legal_name": "Mary Yiane Senata",
        "slug": "mary-yiane-senata"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker for giving me a chance to also support this important Bill. From the onset, this is a very important Bill. It has come at the right time when Kenya needs to have a framework on food security. It has come at a time when we import food for our people. Whether it rains or not, a bigger percentage of Kenyan families are crying because they are not able to provide food for their children. Food is very expensive in this country. Many Kenyans today cannot afford a meal. Therefore, this Bill gives a framework on development and management of irrigation in our country which is very important because food is not only a basic need, but also a constitutional right. The most important aspect in this Bill is the issue of water. The national Government, in consultation with the county governments, must put in place strategies to make sure that Kenyans get adequate water either through water harvesting when it rains or constructing boreholes which will be used for irrigation. This House needs to support county governments to come up with strategies that will help them get adequate water for irrigation. I am also impressed by the issue of capacity building in this Bill. Officers serving in the county government need to be empowered in terms of how to go about irrigation and how to add value to their produce from the farms. We have counties that have huge pieces of land, for example, Kajiado County and other arid and semi arid counties. However, many of them do not have the capacity to do irrigation and add value to their products. If we build the capacity of our people and show them that they are able to change from other traditional ways of getting water to irrigation, we shall have improved our economy. Today, we have quite a number of conflicts in our counties because of livestock moving from one county to another. Yesterday, I read somewhere in the social media that the Nairobi County Government is chasing livestock farmers from Nairobi. They want them to go to back to their home counties. All these conflicts come up because of the issue of pasture. Therefore, irrigation will helps us to get enough food for our people and also get waste for our farms which will help us to feed our animals and help reduce the movement of animals from one county to neighbouring counties. I got the Bill late. The House should ensure that Members get the Bill on time. As I was reading it, I saw an authority will be put in place to provide irrigation services. This country also needs to look into the works of these authorities. At times, we establish authorities and we fail to get services from them. In the past, we used to have extension services for our farmers from the Ministry of Agriculture. Experts would visit farmers The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}