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{
    "id": 786384,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/786384/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 265,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Milgo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13174,
        "legal_name": "Milgo Alice Chepkorir",
        "slug": "milgo-alice-chepkorir"
    },
    "content": "Thank you Madam Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this Motion because tea, as it has been stated, is a major cash crop that adds to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Kenya. It is unfortunate that there are many challenges that are bedeviling the tea sector. Since the Eighth or Ninth Parliament, many legislations have been put in place and at this point, we would wish to know what has been happening with those legislations that have been put up yet they have never seen the light of day. There are many pieces of legislations and I want to imagine that with this Committee, we shall establish one legislation that is going to bring a solution to this sector once and for all. If you look at the tea farmers you will mistake them for actually casual workers. They are actually slaves to whatever they have done with imagination that they are going to make money. When we were going to school in those early days, tea, in this case, was a very reliable crop, but of late, there are a lot of challenges; from the tea collection centres to the factory itself where the tea is being processed; to the transportation and eventually the sale of the tea. This Committee should be able to address--- As a tea growing farmer as Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri has said, I have faced many challenges. When it comes to plucking the tea, the farmers pluck it the whole day. Sometimes, the tea leaves are rejected and thrown out by the clerks at the buying and collection centres because of poor quality. We know that major companies would take any other tea and blend it with the quality tea from our small scale-farmers. Madam Temporary Speaker, in most countries, our black tea is being used as a raw material to make other teas. Many a times, you go to various places and you are given high quality tea yet those countries do not grow tea. They take our black tea and blend them with other substances to produce a high-quality tea. I am sure this Committee will look into the idea of adding value to the tea so that our farmers can receive their entitlement. The multinational companies are affecting the farmers. There are many middlemen that are coming up with factories. While somebody was imagining that the price of tea is Kshs27 per kilogramme, these middlemen are now buying at Kshs22 per kilogramme and there is no bonus for the farmers. I am sure these Members are going to look at these issues and come up with recommendations which will solve the problems that are bedeviling the tea subsector once and for all. Sen. Cheruiyot, I did my research in PhD on what is causing the low prices of tea. So, in the course of your investigations, you can consult me for some addition. Most of the Committee Members are from the tea growing areas and they are also affected. I support them. I am sure that at the end of these five months, they will come up with recommendations to address the challenges facing the tea subsector once and for all. I beg to support."
}