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{
    "id": 90846,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/90846/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 139,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Musila",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister, Ministry of State for Defence",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 94,
        "legal_name": "David Musila",
        "slug": "david-musila"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise here to support this Motion. First, may I take this opportunity to congratulate my good friend the Minister for the appointment to this key Ministry. I have worked with the Minister for many years in the public service. I can say with confidence that she is up to the task and this Ministry is in very good hands. Having said that, let me decry the problems that we encounter in our constituencies. When I was a young boy, and I am not very young now, I used to see Agricultural Extension Officers in my village with khaki uniform written “AD”. Those officers were very useful. They can make a lot of difference. I know that the Ministry, in the past few years, has tried to bring back these officers. However, I can tell you that they are not in existence, particularly in my constituency. We would like to see these people if we want to improve food production in this country. Our peasant farmers practice farming using the traditional methods. They do not even know when to plant, the kind of seeds to plant or the fertilizer to use. It is these officers who will help us improve our farming. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we had very serious drought. My district did not have rains for three consecutive years and we suffered. Finally, we received rain, thanks to God. I commend the Ministry of Agriculture for the role it played in partnering with us and others in providing seeds, particularly maize seeds to our farmers. We grew a lot of food and the first ever bumper harvest in Mwingi happened only recently. We can repeat this many times if the Ministry starts giving seed to our farmers early enough. More often than not, you will see the Ministry of Agriculture coming with seed when the rains have already ended. I hope the Minister will ensure that this time round, we get seeds early."
}