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{
    "id": 90845,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/90845/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 138,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Yinda",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 154,
        "legal_name": "Edwin Ochieng Yinda",
        "slug": "edwin-yinda"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to support Vote 10 – Ministry of Agriculture. As has already been said by my colleagues, the Ministry of Agriculture is definitely the backbone of this economy. If we have to achieve Vision 2030, then this Ministry should be given all the necessary support with all the finances needed so that the Minister can actually fulfill her vision. There are many good things happening in the Ministry, but it is not possible for them to happen without enough funding. Recently, we saw the Government make money available for fertilizer so that farmers could access it cheaply. It is my hope that the Treasury will once again avail money to the Ministry so that we see more fertilizer being distributed all over this country. We saw that even areas that are not traditionally agricultural areas were able to produce bumper crops because of the subsidized fertilizer. The same goes for hybrid seeds which the Minister should ensure are distributed all over the country, depending on the availability of funds. If you look at tea, you will find that the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) is doing a commendable job. It is up to this House to support the Minister so that she can protect the tea industry and give it the support it deserves. It is heartening to see many countries like India, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Nigeria send their officers to this country to learn on the successes of the KTDA. This is because the KTDA is a success story. One of my colleagues mentioned something about poaching in the tea industry. It is my hope that the Minister will take over the Bill that was brought by a Private Member so that it can be cleaned up and have the tea sub-sector protected. From that Bill, the hon. Member actually wanted to encourage poaching of tea. His main idea was to allow tea farmers to sell tea even to factories where they are not members. This is a no-go area. We have to protect this industry and let the farmers be assisted where necessary so that they benefit more from the trade. I would like to see the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) revived and branches created in all constituencies in this country. The AFC played its role successfully because farmers were able to source funds very cheaply. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support this Motion."
}