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{
    "id": 977157,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/977157/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 285,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nominated, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Ms.) Cecily Mbarire",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 78,
        "legal_name": "Cecily Mutitu Mbarire",
        "slug": "cecily-mbarire"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I also rise to add my voice to this very important Motion before the House. Let me start by congratulating Hon. (Dr.) Eseli Simiyu, who is unfortunately not here. He found it necessary to seek the leave of the House to have the Committee to look into the matter of the Coffee Research Institute. It used to be a very popular institute way back, but it has since become a little-known institute for the reasons that have been given by the Committee. I also thank the Committee for the good work that they have done with regard to the Coffee Research Institute. They have looked at what is ailing the institute and recommended far- reaching proposals that will get the institute back to where it used to be, if not better. It is sad to note that the institute that was formed way back in the 1940s has since stopped functioning due to underfunding or no funding at all. More worrying is the fact that out of its 223 staffers, about two-thirds consist of staff of ages ranging between 50 and 55. It is a matter of time before the 148 staffers retire from active service. The institution will be left with even fewer researchers and other staffers with good institutional memory and the necessary experience required in this critical sector. It is no wonder then, with the underfunding and the kind of demoralised staff we have– because they lack salaries sometimes – that they are unable to even do the very basic things, like having coffee nurseries with modern irrigation equipment so that they are able to provide the necessary seedlings required by farmers. They can only produce 100,000 seedlings a year while the demand is at 1.5 million seedlings. We should worry about the fact that they have obsolete laboratory equipment. No wonder the last variety of coffee released was about 10 years ago in 2010. Therefore, we are having a situation where we are compromising the quality of coffee that is being produced by farmers as we move along. Even the field visits, agricultural shows and extension services they are supposed to have with the farmers to train them on the best varieties to use are no longer happening. Therefore, there is no quality control right from the farm to the factories. We are running out of market because we are unable to keep up with the new standards and consumption patterns that are being set up in the world market. We are now talking about specialty coffees yet we are still holding onto our traditional varieties of coffee. 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."
}