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{
    "id": 846944,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/846944/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 99,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kilifi North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Owen Baya",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13373,
        "legal_name": "Owen Yaa Baya",
        "slug": "owen-yaa-baya"
    },
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity, in reply, to thank the Members who contributed to this Motion and the overwhelming support that it received. Therefore, I thank you very much. I also want to take note of several things that have been talked about on this Motion and which Members have contributed. One, the coconut tree is an important oil crop. This country imports huge tonnage of oil for cooking and other things and yet the coconut tree can replace all the imports if the Government takes cognisance of the fact that the tree is important. Secondly, there was once a tree in the Coast region called bixa. The bixa tree was one of the economic mainstays of Kenya, especially in Kwale. It even had a huge factory which employed thousands of people, but because the Government neglected bixa, you do not see it again at the Coast. The factory was closed down. The farmers do not get any income and others lost their jobs. Why? There was neglect. Again, in the Coast region, there was a plant called castor, which produced the famous castor oil. It was used as an oil crop, a medicinal crop and many things. It was a huge industry at the Coast, but because the Government ignored the castor tree, our children and the grandchildren that will come will never even know what a castor tree is. It disappeared from the face of the Coast because there was sheer neglect. These two trees are now being followed very closely to demise by the coconut and the cashew nut trees because Government is not concerned. Two to three years ago, drought hit the Coast. Coconut has suffered immensely, but the Government is not concerned. If another drought occurs, probably all the coconut trees within the Coast region will be wiped out. We are saying that the Government can take steps towards the recovery of this tree and one of the steps is to ensure that we compensate famers so that they can pay for their loans and buy new plants and varieties and ensure that we have coconut trees in the farms of these people. I want to speak for the poor farmers of the Coast region and those that felt that the Government has not come to their aid for many years. The farmers at the Coast feel that the Government has watched bixa and castor oil getting lost and now it is watching the coconut tree. However, I think this Government can redeem its image and itself, the way the people of 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."
}