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{
    "id": 90919,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/90919/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 212,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. I. Muoki",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 87,
        "legal_name": "Isaac Mulatya Muoki",
        "slug": "isaac-muoki"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. One misconception that we normally have is that when we talk about food security we always think about the Ministry of Agriculture. Many Kenyans and, indeed, a very large of this country depend on livestock for their livelihood. It is, therefore, very important that we take this Ministry to be very important. The Minister has tried under these circumstances. We have given him a very small budget year in year out and yet we expect him to deliver so much. If you really want to have food security or sufficient food and income from farming, we need to equally empower the Minister for Livestock Development so that he can work on the issues we are proposing to him. With regard to livestock in this country, we tend to be biased. About 75 per cent of this country is arid. The Minister and I come from arid areas. We have never had affirmative action on farming in these areas. When you talk about arid areas, it is not just about North Eastern Province. We are talking about the upper parts of Eastern Province, Ukambani region, Maasailand, other parts in Nyanza Province and so on. We need to determine the kind of farming that can be done in those areas so that we can improve the local breed and have proper medical care for animals in those areas so that they can also produce like the high potential areas. The arid areas have an advantage of having vast land which can be used for grazing. If we invest properly in those areas, I am sure we will have good results. I would like to draw the attention of the Minister to what happened last year. Since I come from the arid areas, sometimes I look at what is happening and I get disappointed. We have many animals which we can sell and get money to improve our economy in those areas. When drought comes like it did last year, we lose our animals or sell them at throw-away price. Is there not a strategy we can device so that when the rains are good and our animals are doing very well, we can sell them at a very good price? That way, we will avoid this waste. We lost a lot during the drought. We need to look at these issues proactively so that we maximize on the issue of farming. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support this Motion."
}