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{
    "id": 90850,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/90850/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 143,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Wekesa",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Forestry and Wildlife",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 209,
        "legal_name": "Noah Mahalang'ang'a Wekesa",
        "slug": "noah-wekesa"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. For a long time, Kenya has been known as a country where agriculture is the backbone of the economy. Therefore, the Minister should be given more money to run this Ministry. Before I forget, the best thing that has happened this year is to have the present Minister in that Ministry. We know her history of being a performer. We, in the farming sector, are looking upon her to correct all the ills that have bedeviled the Ministry for many years. I want to commend the Chairman of the Departmental Committee. I agree with his sentiments that the National Cereals and Produce Board should be taken back to the Ministry of Agriculture. The money that is given to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation should be given to the Ministry of Agriculture. That is very important. Those of us who have been involved in agriculture for many years can attest to the fact that, those two institutions should go back to the Ministry so that the Minister can plan to produce food for this country. Trans Nzoia is known as the granary of Kenya. By so saying, we are targeting maize. For many years now, maize has been imported. All we hear about is that we are importing maize. We are tired of hearing that this country is importing maize. That is because we have got the rains, fertile soils and experts. I do not see why Kenya, for whatever reason, should import maize and wheat. That should not be done. I am 100 per cent sure that this Minister will put an end to this culture of importation, when we very well know that those who have been importing maize have been looting money from this nation. We do not want to hear that because many farmers must be supported. I am thinking about farmers in Trans Nzoia and Hola who planted maize. They now have maize but they cannot sell it. That is because we do not have a good policy. A sum of Kshs1.2 billion is owed to farmers in Trans Nzoia. Farmers in Hola who planted maize under the Economic Stimulus Projects have 1,500 bags. They cannot sell that maize because we do not have a good policy. As the Minister addresses the issue of sugar, the sugar sector needs to be reformed. We see areas that should have sugar factories like Busia being ignored. The Minister should be very careful in licensing new players in the sugar sector. Those new players should be taken to areas like Busia where we can grow sugar cane. The Minister should make sure that the same fertilizer that we got last year is available to the farmers now, so that they can plan their budget for next year. If we do not do that, we are going to suffer. The issue of climate change is with us. We want the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture to educate our farmers about the ravages of climate change. Climate change produces extended droughts and floods which we have experienced. This information should go out to farmers so that they can also plan. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}