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{
    "id": 821360,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/821360/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 254,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 210,
        "legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
        "slug": "moses-wetangula"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, first, I thank you personally for joining up with me to co-sponsor this Motion. In fact, it was your idea that we brought the Motion to this House which has received acclaim without any single dissent. It means that Senators in this august House are fully aware and conscious of the plight of the Kenyan farmer, particularly the maize farmer. The confidence that this House enjoys will require that the nine Members of this Committee will have to burn the midnight oil. We urge the Speaker and the Clerk to give the Committee competent clerks and researchers who can look at policy papers in terms of; how to manage subsidies in the sector; marketing the produce in the sector; how to finance the farmer and above all the plight of the farmer. Farmers have, in the quest to feed this nation, ended up paying a heavy price. They are auctioned not because they have recklessly spent money borrowed but because they have borrowed money to grow the crop and deliver to the cereals boards and not paid. These are farmers who are unable to take their children to school and lead a barely average life simply because they are not able to get just returns on their produce. It begs a serious question. In this country, 75 per cent of the workforce of Kenya is in the agricultural sector. If you want to create and sustain jobs and improve livelihoods, how can you ignore a sector that employs 75 per cent of your workforce? These are the serious questions that we have to ask ourselves. Above all, the distinguished Senator for West Pokot has raised an important point. Why would we want to allow maize from our neighbour – which is not even allowed in the East African protocol – to come and fill up our granaries when the manner in which they grow, harvest and even the post-harvest handling is not the same as ours? 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."
}