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{
    "id": 821216,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/821216/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 110,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Murkomen",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to second this Motion. I congratulate Sen. (Prof.) Kamar and Sen. Wetangula for thinking through this Motion. Both of them come from maize growing counties, including myself and many other Senators whose names are included in the Motion. There is a crisis of monumental proportion. There is an injustice that is being meted on maize farmers. Maize farmers delivered their maize as from October last year and it is very sad that they are being caught in a crossfire between Government investigative agencies and departments of agriculture, including the one that deals with cereals. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when farmers delivered their maize, there was an understanding that they would be paid by December, so that by January this year, they would be in a position to take their children to school. Some wanted to have the opportunity to invest in other areas as they should. In fact, like Sen. (Prof.) Kamar has said, there are many farmers who never tilled farms this year because they did not have the money to buy farm inputs. There was a promise that these farmers would be paid. There are various categories of persons who supplied maize to the NCPB. The first category, as far as I am concerned, are those who supplied maize from their farms directly to the NCPB. The regulations did not say that they should supply maize either directly or indirectly. There is a second category of suppliers who mopped the maize from farmers in different areas, bought it from them, and paid the farmers. In some cases they even paid them before the period of harvesting ensued. Some of these farmers are the ones that you saw being maligned. Some of them are from Sen. (Prof.) Kamar’s county and some from Trans Nzoia County. Some of them are people who are even known to me. Some even come from my own county. They have assisted farmers for over ten years. For example, if you are in a place called Kapcherop, it costs money to take the maize to the NCPB depot at Moi’s Bridge. Therefore, if you are a farmer who has only one, two or three acres, it makes economic sense for you to sell the maize at a lesser price to another trader within that area, who could also be a farmer like you. That person would then deliver that maize to the NCPB. Therefore, we have a second category of farmers who are also traders. They have been assisting farmers for many years to deliver their maize to the NCPB depots either in Eldoret, Kitale, Moi’s Bridge, Bungoma and other places in the country, including Nakuru. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are told there is a third category of farmers, who supposedly have imported maize and delivered it to the NCPB. An argument is being made that there 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."
}