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{
    "id": 8422,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/8422/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 539,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Namwamba",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 108,
        "legal_name": "Ababu Tawfiq Pius Namwamba",
        "slug": "ababu-namwamba"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, that is information that this House should not take lightly. That information from the hon. Member for Lamu East does confirm my assertion on this Floor that there are many genuine reasons that have made it difficult for the Kenyan farmer to service his loans. Therefore, as the House considers this plea to provide these funds to AFC, to provide relief to these farmers, that should be at the back of our minds that the Kenyan farmer is genuinely burdened to an extent where he or she is finding it difficult to service these loans. Third is Busia County at 69 per cent. Fourth is Taita Taveta County at 68 per cent. Those are default rates. Fifth is Homa Bay County at 64 per cent. Sixth is Bungoma County at 58 per cent. Seven is Narok County at 57 per cent. I need to emphasize that when the Chair, the Member for Narok South and I visited Narok, we met serious investors in the wheat farming industry who were on the verge of tears as they recounted to the meeting on the cost of living how a combination of drought and other factors had turned an otherwise lucrative business into a source of great pain to the farmers and investors in this sector. Therefore, a default rate of 57 per cent is one that is well explainable from the factors we witnessed in Narok. Eighth is Migori County at 55 per cent. Ninth is Machakos County at 53 per cent. Topping the top 10 is West Pokot County at 50 per cent. Those are top 10 default rates in terms of counties that range from 100 per cent to 50 per cent. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I, therefore, want to put it to this House that we have an opportunity to listen to the very genuine cry of the Kenyan farmer. The Kenyan farmer is not asking for free money. The Kenyan farmer is simply saying: We have done our best. We are burdened. We need a helping hand. The Agricultural Finance Corporation is saying that if these loans are not recoverable, then in light of the fact that AFC is operating at less than one-third of its full financing capacity, then in the absence of the Kshs1.819 billion that is currently in the hands of the farmers that are genuinely burdened, AFC could as well close shop. I want to plead with this House without overly belabouring the point that may this House rise to the challenge of listening to the very genuine cry of the farmer of this country and provide this credit to the AFC as a grant. The Kshs2 billion that this Motion seeks is not a loan; it is not a credit from the Government. It is sought as a grant to AFC to enable AFC provide relief to our farmers who, in turn, would get capacity to get their businesses back running and help this country achieve food security. We have done it previously. Through infusion of this kind of grant to the coffee sector, we have been able to return the coffee farmer back on track. We can do it for the rest of the farmers. Indeed, when you look at this Motion, it targets farmers in all sectors. These are wheat, maize sugarcane, coffee, tea, the dairy industry farmers, especially livestock, the sector that everybody seems to always forget about. So, this is a Motion that I plead with this House to rise to the occasion and fully support."
}