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{
    "id": 937920,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/937920/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 68,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mandera West, EFP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Yussuf Adan",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13420,
        "legal_name": "Adan Haji Yussuf",
        "slug": "adan-haji-yussuf-2"
    },
    "content": " Thank you Hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. I stand to support this Motion. It is very timely. As we know, registration of farmers is part of planning. If we fail to plan, we plan to fail. Registering our farmers and knowing which farmer is where and growing which crops or keeping what type of animals, can help us in the budget processes of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Irrigation and other entities that deal with food security. It is very important. If we do not know the number of farmers that we have, the types of crops or animals they keep, we will not be able to plan and give the necessary support that is required. We used to have very organised farming systems. Because of corruption and mismanagement, all those are gone. The co-operatives that we used to have and the few that still exist do so merely by name. We used to have the Kenya Farmers’ Association (KFA) and the Kenya Grain Growers Cooperation Union (KGGCU), which are no longer there. We used to have the livestock marketing councils all over the country. They are still there, but they are not getting proper support because their members are not effectively registered. We need to register all the farmers, be they high commercial farmers or subsistence farmers. That will be proper planning and that will also give farmers proper markets. They can negotiate for the marketing of their products. They can negotiate for good prices if they are registered and if they are in groups, unions or co-operatives as opposed to operating as individuals. What is happening is that farmers produce the same type of farm produce and they all want to sell the same produce to the market. They compete among themselves and they end up selling their products at a lower cost, below their cost of production. They end up making a loss. If that continues, farmers will continue being in abject poverty yet they are the ones who feed all of us. We cannot do without farmers. You wake up in the morning, you need a cup of tea, bread 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."
}