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{
    "id": 831055,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/831055/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 152,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) James Nyikal",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 434,
        "legal_name": "James Nyikal",
        "slug": "james-nyikal"
    },
    "content": "The fact that farmers harvest and sell maize at the same time makes them fetch low prices. Availability of potential users like maize farmers, traders and millers can entice financial institutions to support this system. More importantly, we should ensure that the quality and reputation of the storage facilities are above board. They must have financial viability because the farmer will, definitely, at the point of depositing his produce, pay some fee to the warehouse owner or operator. The current situation in our country is that the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) is not a warehouse receipt; it is a Government warehouse that buys and sells. We know the problem that farmers have faced. It has been a monopoly. The farmers have not had an opportunity to sell their produce when they want. Because of that, farmers have incurred a lot of losses. We have had issues of corruption in the system and great losses of farmers’ stocks. So, this is a system that will make the big change in the management of farm produce in this country. This thing has worked well in India. South Africa, Tanzania and Ethiopia are trying the system. In Kenya today, the World Bank is supporting the system. I am almost certain that they have made some contribution to this Bill. At least, they are working on three countries in Africa to introduce this system. Do we need it in Kenya? My answer is ‘yes.’ Why do we need it? We have a major challenge with our grain storage facilities. We lack places to store our produce as we look for markets. The only purchase facilities we have been relying on are those of the NCPB, through which farmers have lost so much. There is the issue of control of export and trafficking. We know the problem we have had with trafficking in this country. There is monopoly with the NCPB, which is not a proper warehouse receipt system; it is just a warehouse. If this system comes into being, it will obviously be of great value to farmers. More important is to get a regulatory framework that will support everybody: the farmer, the warehouse operator, the financial institution interested, the 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."
}