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{
    "id": 816741,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/816741/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 264,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kilifi North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Owen Baya",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13373,
        "legal_name": "Owen Yaa Baya",
        "slug": "owen-yaa-baya"
    },
    "content": "middlemen. Our cashew nut crops are also being attacked by diseases but the Ministry of Agriculture has been very complacent. This is because it has not taken interest to come up with measures to eliminate the diseases. On lack of farming inputs, today, some counties have come together with a programme of selling one seedling of cashew nut at Kshs50. The poor farmers of Kilifi and Coast region cannot afford Kshs50 to buy one seedling. The Government has potential, just like it does for coffee, tea and other crops in this country, to ensure that there are resources to purchase seedlings and give them to farmers to ensure that they plant new crops. We have seen other crops have research funds which have been instrumental in sustaining the crops, but there has not been even Kshs1 allocated to cashew nut research to help us fight diseases, produce new crop varieties, get better marketing and do value addition. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I urge this House, in its wisdom and the wisdom of Members that sit on the benches of this House, that today should mark a new dawn for the people of Coast and the people of Kilifi and other counties that grow cashew nut in this country; that they will have a full meal because their farms can supply them with enough cashew nuts, pay school fees for their children and buy food. It is also a dawn that will see us using agriculture to kick out poverty in the region; a new dawn that the person of Coast region will see a recognition of a crop that has been dear to them and a crop that has made them develop in the past, but a crop which has made them wallow in abject poverty because the Government that they have put in place for many years has not been concerned about the crops that are dear to them. This country has the potential. Today, the demand for cashew nut in this world is increasing. China has the biggest market for cashew nut. And you know the population of China keeps increasing. Therefore, we have a steady market for cashewnut outside this country. If you look at major food outlets, you will find they serve cashew nut in their menu. Major airlines serve cashew nut too. Where do they bring them from? Java Coffee House serves cashew nut but if you ask them where they get them from, you will find that they import. I asked KQ where they get the cashew nut they serve in the planes, they told me they import and yet this country has the potential. The balance of trade for this country, where imports exceed exports, can be corrected if we put funds and our efforts to grow the business in the cashew nut industry. You will be surprised that the business in the cashew nut industry is very huge such that other countries are investing a lot of money to revive their cashew nut sector, but Kenya is not doing anything. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Tanzania is leading in East Africa and yet Kenya used to lead. In Africa, Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria produce more cashew nut and yet Kenya used to lead. If we want to think about the economy of this country and the money that goes into our revenue coffers at KRA, then we must take serious action towards the revival of the cashew nut sub-sector. I beg to move this Motion, that, Members that sit in this House look at cashew nut not only as a coastal crop but also as a national crop that can help spur the development of agriculture in this country and the GDP of this country so that we move ahead in job creation, value addition and to look at the President’s Big Four Agenda of manufacturing. The President’s agenda is huge but how does the person at the Coast benefit from it if we do not spur the growth of agriculture to jettison into the manufacturing agenda the President is talking about? At this moment, I would like to ask the County Women Representative for Lamu, Captain Ruweida to stand up and second this Motion. Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}