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{
    "id": 774382,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/774382/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 229,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, a lot of losses happen at the farm gate. When we pass this Bill, and I believe it is ‘when’ and not ‘if---’ When the interest of the Kenyan farmer cannot come first, then the other interests that come first really do not matter. When we pass this Bill, we will save our farmers from losses and exploitation. We will give our farmers the feeling that they are rich and capable. There has been a suggestion coming from the Ministry of Trade and Industrialization that the definition of ‘commodities’ in this Bill is too restrictive and this needs to be expanded. A warehouse receipting system should not just refer to agricultural commodity. This is a matter that the Committee shall interrogate, and there will be linkages with the Committee on Tourism, Trade, and Industrialization. This is not just an agricultural issue. This is a financial system issue; a trade issue and financial inclusion issue. Probably, this is one area where the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries would consider sitting jointly with the Committee on Tourism, Trade, and Industrialization, so that we do not only look at this from an agricultural lens, but also from a financial inclusion lens. I know there will be stakeholders, some of whom have already sent feelers to us, saying that we need to clearly define the word “commodity” and carry it properly in the Act. That makes a lot of sense because in the past, we came up with the Fisheries Management and Development Act, but failed to do one very important thing: We failed to distinguish between fishing and fishery. We have a situation where fishing is a national Government function and fishery is a county government function. So, it is very difficult to know where fishing ends and where fishery starts; whether fishing is the head and fishery is the tail of the fish. If we do not get definitions right, it can cause a lot of confusion for the sector. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the Bill."
}