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"content": "The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has told us that investigations are ongoing. In the preliminaries, we are informed that the produce that was received---There is a claim by the NCPB that the stores are full. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has claimed that the stores were filled by non- farmers, which is another question that needs to be looked at. If the stores were filled by non-farmers, it therefore means that the privilege of selling maize at Kshs3200 which was given to farmers may have been enjoyed by non-farmers. This is something that this House must take note of. Mr. Deputy Speaker Sir, there are a number of observations and questions that we have raised. We had a wonderful meeting yesterday between the leadership of Uasin Gishu County, parts of the North Rift and the farmers. One of the observations we made is that the storage capacity of the NCPB is normally over 20 million bags. However, the number of bags that were collected from the farmers, as per the data available and this figure of Kshs1.9 billion, show that not even a third of the storage space at the NCPB can be accounted for through the amount that has been paid. This leaves us wondering why the payments are much less than the storage capacity of the NCPB. Is it, therefore, possible that there is maize in the stores that was either donated or it came before this season? Mr. Deputy Speaker Sir, we are also aware that an opportunity for importation of maize was given because of the shortage of 2017, and that the grain that was imported was zero rated. That importation was supposed to protect the food security as well as the millers. That privilege was supposed to have ended in October, 2017. However, we realise that, that did not end and the delivery of produce continued. In fact, there is suspicion that it went on up to January. However, I will leave aside that issue, because the reason I am presenting this is because we need our Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries to delve into this whole thing. However, it is true that deliveries from what was imported actually went on beyond October to December. Now, the question is; how was that authorised when the subsidy was supposed to have stopped by that time? Mr. Deputy Speaker Sir, this has left us with a lot of worries and questions. When we met, as leaders and farmers in Uasin Gishu yesterday, we made a number of resolutions and requests to the government. First, was that the true farmers be identified and be paid for the produce that they have delivered. This is very urgent because the farmers who have delivered cannot even plant. We know that one of the Big Four Agenda is food security. However, we might not see the food that we are talking about next year. Our farmers are faced with an infestation of army worms, for those who have just planted. That menace, coupled with the fact that a lot of land has been left idle, is going to cause a lot of problems in this country. We are, therefore, appealing to the government that because it has been identified that the wrong people were paid, the real ones should now be paid so that they have their money; so that their children can go to school. Mr. Deputy Speaker Sir, we are also appealing to the Government that it must collect the remaining grain that is with the farmers. Farmers in this country are planting, not for themselves, but for the food security of the country. Therefore, if they have grain in the stores – and I dare say that I still have mine in my stores –it is very important that 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."
}