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{
    "id": 831122,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/831122/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 219,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for deliberately giving me a chance to speak after my senior. I support this Bill. I would like to allay the fears of my senior. He is also my party Secretary-General. We have to advance as a country. First and foremost, I agree with him that this is a new system. At the same time, I also want to make it very clear that the farmer has a choice to either take his grains to the NCPB or to some other place. He can sell whatever he has. The choice is his. The system we are trying to introduce has worked elsewhere. It has worked in India. I also want to declare my interest. I had the time and patience to go to four warehouses. I saw that the system works. First, you choose to sell your wares or take them to the warehouse receipts system and you are issued with a receipt. It has been explained. I agree with my colleague that it has worked in India, Brazil and Holland. Those are three advanced countries. We cannot lament that we cannot move just because of the corruption in this country. In fact, the previous Member must be the one who talked about the penalty. Instead of charging those people who mess up the system Kshs100,000, the penalty should be increased to Kshs5 million or a five-year imprisonment. As we consider how this system works, we have to ask the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries to appoint a substantive board of the AFFA because its objective or mandate is to promote, develop and regulate the agricultural activities in the country. We also want to see if we can reintroduce the levies on tea, coffee and sugar which we did away with. We want to reintroduce them so that we can do more research on the products. The Kenya Seed Company is introducing a new hybrid seed. This is something that will improve our products. We should not fear this. We should introduce a system because the small-scale farmer can store the grain when the prices are not good and use the same receipt which is like a title deed to do business. Instead of going to the bank, he can engage in business using the title deed which is the receipt which is issued. There was the issue of who is supposed to do what. This warehouse receipt system is bringing in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation, and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Co-operatives. The Bill also brings in the National Treasury and AFFA. I ask the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation to appoint a substantive board 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."
}