Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 901146,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/901146/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 185,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mandera South, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Ali Adan",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13418,
        "legal_name": "Adan Hajj Ali",
        "slug": "adan-haji-ali"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to second but before I proceed, as we mentioned yesterday, this gadget is so short and if I stand upright, Members may not hear me. This is what I was discussing yesterday. My constituents keep on complaining that I always stoop so much while speaking in this House. So, we should try to help those of us who are vertically endowed. Hon. Deputy Speaker, the Warehouse Receipt System Bill (Senate Bill No.10 of 2017) was published on 10 November, 2018, as the Leader of the Majority Party said. The Bill is meant to give effect to the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of Kenya in relation to agriculture and trade by providing a legal framework for regulation and development of the warehousing system for agricultural commodities to cure, among other things, the challenge of marketing cereal produce in the country. The details have already been mentioned by the Leader of the Majority Party, and I do not wish to repeat them. However, legislating on warehousing receipt system is, in short, the best thing that has happened to post-independent Kenya. A warehousing receipt system will enable depositors to leverage on financing against stock commodities. It ensures trade securities in the agricultural sector, and specifically for producers in famers’ SACCO societies, traders and processors. This has the effect of reducing post-harvest losses through safe storage of excess grains at harvest time and, therefore, prolonging the sales season and reducing price fluctuations. Hon. Deputy Speaker, this Bill addresses a number of challenges that Kenyan farmers continue to face. The first one is access to credit through use of agricultural commodities as collateral. Farmers can take their produce or cereals to warehouses for safe deposit where they will pay a little fee. They can then use the receipts obtained as collateral to access financial instruments. The warehouse receipt system also improves post-harvest loss through management of agricultural produce through progressive improvement of the national network of storage facilities. The warehouse receipt system will take over the role of the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) very effectively, if properly managed. The warehouse receipt system will also stabilise agricultural commodity supply and, consequently, price fluctuations as farmers will not have to sell their produce in distress at the harvest time. This is very important because currently farmers have no choice. At times they realise a bumper harvest. As we have been told, in the case of maize, we harvest over 46 million bags but when the quantities hit the market, the price goes down. A warehouse receipt system will enable farmers to take their produce to warehouses for safekeeping and wait for the price to stabilise, so that they can sell it when the price improves. That way, farmers will be able to enjoy profits during the drought period. So, introducing a warehouse receipt system is the best thing that has happened in this country. 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."
}