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{
    "id": 821301,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/821301/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 195,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, I think it is poetic to use it to mean the grain that is grown largely in Uasin Gishu where we had Uasin Gishu Grain Association. I will have an opportunity to look at that 18th Century Kamusi that Sen. Faki is talking about. I am sure he will be more than glad to give it to us. Madam Temporary Speaker, this Committee will have to ask radical questions. As Sen. Wetangula pointed out, in as much as my home is in Nairobi and I was born and raised in the city, I come from Trans Nzoia County. In Trans Nzoia County, I have seen over the years the suffering and the level of poverty caused. In fact, in Trans Nzoia and the rest of the former Western Province, there are two crops that have caused poverty to millions. They are maize and sugarcane but they have created wealth to only tens or hundreds of people in this country. I hope that this Committee will do some thorough work and ask radical questions such as why farmers have not been paid. I have been reducing the amount of acreage that I grow maize in my farm because of the same reason Sen. Wetangula has talked about. In fact, I decided to shift to coffee and other horticultural crops because maize is no longer profitable to grow in this country. What will happen if many other people take that kind of thinking? It will reduce our food security in this country. Farmers are suffering. I remember when I was growing up, I used to spend long hours queuing outside the cereals board during school holidays waiting for us to get a turn to drive the tractor in order to deliver our maize. Sometimes we were told it will happen the following day or the day after and that still happens. So, it is not a crisis that has just started because it has been going on for many years. Today, in Trans Nzoia and Uasin Gishu, instead of taking an entire year growing maize, it is wise to invest in a store and that is what many people are engaging in. People have learnt to invest in stores. After farmers have harvested, they buy the maize cheaply because of the demands towards the end of the year and going to January for school fees and other reasons. The maize is stored and sold from March up to June for thrice or even four times the price it was bought. That way you make much money than the maize farmer. That is what has been happening for years. This Committee must also look into the issue of maize brokers. We need to ensure that at the time maize is being bought, value is not compromised to the farmer. 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."
}