Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 978923,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/978923/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 129,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kipkelion East, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Joseph Limo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1915,
        "legal_name": "Joseph Kirui Limo",
        "slug": "joseph-kirui-limo"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I chose not to speak earlier because there was a lot of interest on this Bill. This Bill is in the right place. The problems that have been facing tea farmers are many and they cannot be only resolved by way of talking in the streets. This Bill has brought in the Tea Board of Kenya. In fact, that begs the question: why was the Tea Board of Kenya removed in the first place? I have to say this for the benefit of Members. In the past, we used to have the Ministry of Roads and Public Works that was tasked with maintenance and construction of roads in the whole county. That time, construction of our roads was poor until the enactment of laws that gave birth to the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), and Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA). Since they were put in place, we have seen a lot of change on management of our infrastructure. In the same manner, it was sad that we decided to fold all authorities that were managing issues of farmers in this country. We amalgamated them into one. That issue of coming up with one authority to manage issues of agriculture in this country was a disaster. We need authorities that will take charge of particular crops. I have heard many Members ask: why can we not bring this or that? A lot depends on the profile of the crops, for instance, tea has been consistent in terms of bringing foreign exchange to this country. It has been leading for a long time. Coffee is another one. We cannot bury our heads in the sand and leave this crop to go down the drain. As tea famers cry that they are no longer getting any benefit, I have to say that I worked in the tea industry before I came to this House as an MP. I know the drivers of tea industry. To put money in the pockets of farmers we need to, one, work on pricing. We need to work on a way of sustaining growth in the price of tea in the market. The price of tea has stagnated for a long time. Two, we need to look at productivity. Productivity of our farms has been going down because of poor management of our farms. The Government has been doing very little especially now that agriculture is devolved. There is little that is being put in place to teach our farmers how to bring in good practices that will enhance productivity. In the wake of this, we need to curb the loss and ensure that the Government puts a lot of support in bringing farmers up to speed with the progressive agronomy practices. 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."
}