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{
    "id": 815019,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/815019/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 164,
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    "content": "level of having solar-powered irrigation but all these have been left out because the drafters of this Bill are enemies of devolution. They just looked at large-scale irrigation schemes that were being run by the NIB. For that reason, we as Senators should reject the attempt by the national Government to disregard the people whom we represent because if categories of people undertaking irrigation by means of drip, sprinkler and solar- powered irrigation were taken into account in this Bill, then the people I represent from Nyamira County would have been covered. If we adopt this Bill, it means that I do not care about the small-holder farmer in Nyamira County where I come from and the county that my friend Sen. Seneta comes from, yet those are the people we represent. I was expecting the drafters of this Bill to be innovative and sensitive in addressing the problems the small-scale farmers who want to convert their three acres into viable farms which can produce high yielding vegetables and fruits that will not only improve the food security of this country, but will also increase their income, are facing. I expected this Bill to address issues of financing small-scale farmers in purchasing the small irrigation machineries to do proper farming helped by irrigation. It seems the drafters of this Bill do not understand the challenges that our farmers are facing. At the back of their minds, they think that talking about irrigation is having Mwea Irrigation Scheme. We are losing the point. Mr. Temporary Speaker, we represent the small-scale farmers who want to do irrigation, but they lack finances. People have greenhouses for farming, but small-scale farmers cannot afford them in their farms. These are the people we need to address. There is lack of support services to these farmers. I thought this Bill will obligate counties to have support services to the farmers who want to undertake irrigation in their small farms. This is not being addressed. I expected this Bill will to address the issue of having county-based engineers who are experts in irrigation and can have agricultural extension services to farmers. As a result, they train them on how they can move away from the traditional means of farming and adopt the more modern irrigation-based farming, using their small farms. That is the only way we can proudly say we are fighting for the interest of our counties. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, who does not know that the NIB has failed miserably? If we are looking for solutions, then the national Government will not offer those solutions, but instead our county government will. Two weeks ago, I was in Mwea for a funeral. I stopped in to buy rice in Mwea Town. I asked the farmers how they managed to farm rice all this time. They told me that they were abandoned by the NIB many years ago and that they are now managing those irrigation schemes themselves. What is this obsession that we cannot undertake irrigation unless we pick Principal Secretaries from Ministries based in Nairobi to manage irrigations in our counties? That is not the way to go. That is not the way we can have food security for this country. The people in counties can manage these irrigation schemes and farming on their own. We have 21 Ministries in this country. I have looked at this Bill and the people proposed to be on the board, to say the least, this is how insulting somebody can be. The Ministry in charge of devolution has been left out of this Bill. They are proposing a 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."
}