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{
    "id": 86580,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/86580/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 402,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Oyongo Nyamweya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 391,
        "legal_name": "Manson Oyongo Nyamweya",
        "slug": "manson-nyamweya"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me time to talk about this Bill. This is a very good Bill, Madam Minister. However, there are some shortcomings which need to be addressed. The first point I want to raise is that for no reasons of the farmers, price fluctuation takes place. Currently, most farmers are happy because the shilling has been depreciating. It is now exchanging to a dollar at Kshs80. The farmer is benefitting from that situation. The tea sector is very critical in this country. It helps us to meet our balance of payment and also helps our shilling to strengthen. This sector has created many job opportunities for our people and reduced rural-urban migration. This Bill will be ideal if we can factor a mechanism or an insurance which will cushion them against exchange fluctuation. I am not asking for any increment in the price, but let us compensate them for exchange rate fluctuation, so that they earn their anticipated income. The other point I want to talk about is that we are talking about each factory standing on its own. I have no problem with that. However, let us leave it to the market to decide the prices. One time, we tell farmers that they are free to sell their tea wherever they want and at the price of their choice. Other times we restrict them from moving their products from one factory to another. Those are double standards. We need to come up with a mechanism that will help them benefit from their produce. Our biggest challenge is to help farmers benefit from their sweat. The way I look at it, the factory should be run efficiently. However, when we restrict farmers from taking their produce where they can earn more money, we are killing them. Sometimes, farmers do not have shares in those factories and we want them to sell their tea there. They have their shambas which they take care of. The factory does not give any inputs to them for free. If it is fertilizer, for example, they pay for it. Let us come up with a mechanism which can benefit the farmer. For example, how do we compensate the farmer when the price of fertilizers is high? As far as I am concerned, this sector is critical to this nation and we want to benefit it."
}