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"id": 1525572,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mumma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Sen. Olekina, proceed."
},
{
"id": 1525573,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525573/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
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"speaker": {
"id": 407,
"legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
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"content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this report by the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. As I support this report, I want to appreciate the diligence of the young Kenyan from Bomet who has educated us on what is going on in this country. The reason we have seeds that are prone to diseases is simply because institutions have failed to perform their work. We have an institution called the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), which is supposed to provide a service and regulate seeds in this country. However, it appears that for last 12 years, a disease has attacked the basic food that sustains this economy and they have done nothing about it. In 2021, Bomet County lost almost 90 per cent of its crop. Yet we have institutions that collect billions of shillings to ensure that our farmers are protected. These are the kind of things that make some of us propose legislation to separate some of these tasks that they are given. I want to tell the honourable Kenyan who brought this Petition that this Petition will not just go like any other petitions. Most of the time, when Kenyans come and petition here, just because the Constitution gives you the right to do so, it is quite seldom that action is taken or whatever the recommendation we give is fully implemented. Madam Temporary Speaker, this is one of those actionable petitions and we can implement it because it touches on our existence. If you tell the people of Rift Valley that they cannot grow maize - I heard my good friend, the Senate Majority Leader - say that because of all these disadvantages and challenges, he is now advising his constituents to diversify. I understand where he is coming from. As a farmer like me, I have to grow maize because apart from feeding my own family with it and my community, I also have to feed my cows. However, the truth of the matter is that I cannot feed my cows with maize that has a disease because I will pass that disease to other people. So, what is the neatest thing to do? The Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has done its task. All the distinguished Senators who spoke here have also supported this committee and emphasised its findings. We all know agriculture function is devolved. It is about time that county governments ensured that their field officers in rural homes guarantee that the seeds sold by KSC and all these agro vets are certified. Within the next few weeks, I will introduce an amendment to the Seed and Plant Variety Act. This is the Plant Variety Act. I will seek to introduce a standard-based seed The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1525574,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525574/?format=api",
"text_counter": 240,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 407,
"legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
"slug": "ledama-olekina"
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"content": "registration system to facilitate the timely approval of seed varieties. The problem we have now is that a cartel heads KEPHIS. When the basic seed approval process takes years who are we protecting? We are definitely not protecting our farmers, but the people who introduce seeds such as maize and beans. They do not want any other variety to be introduced that can adjust to the different changes in our climate. My Bill, which is already being send for pre-publication, will address these issues. I was so happy when I read this report because it is like we are intertwined. We were sitting down with the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and looking at the prayers. If you read this petitioner's prayers, they are simple. They are asking us to make sure that any seeds sold to maize farmers are seeds that do not have any diseases. When I introduce my Bill, you will see that I have taken that into consideration. It is now imperative that we try to separate because a lot of seeds come from abroad. We have KEPHIS, which should provide a service. However, I am a firm believer that the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBs), which is fully equipped, can ensure that the certified seeds, are good for this economy. The problem is that when you have one Government entity that is tasked with approving seed varieties and inspecting them, believe it or not, there is always room for mischief. This is because quote-unquote; they are the alpha and the omega. They are the ones who make all the decisions. Madam Temporary Speaker, it is time for us to listen to what is happening on the ground. Make sure that any seed varieties that are sold in this country are seeds that are clearly labelled and you can follow them. We should now ensure that whoever sells seeds that have some form of disease pays suffers the consequences. The petitioner is seeking some form of support or compensation. We need to encourage and educate our farmers that there are insurance policies that can protect their crops. I believe we are all farmers here. The distinguished Senator from Bomet County, Counsel Hilary Sigei, recently harvested his wheat. Since we had a crisis in the country, all he did was to store it until we had a situation where he could sell it. All that was brought by the fact that when Cabinet Secretaries meet, they do not have a picture of what is happening on the ground. Therefore, decisions are not made locally, but elsewhere so that farmers continue to suffer. Madam Temporary Speaker, it is important that we encourage innovations to develop local seeds before any seeds are imported from outside the country. Secondly, before any wheat or maize is imported, we should make sure that there is absolutely no wheat or maize in this country. I dare say that sometimes because of business interest, some people will sell seeds that will ensure that there is a shortage of maize in the country. This is because they import millions of metric tonnes into this country because we are a consumer economy. We must change to becoming a producer economy. We should be producing and selling. Listen to this, Madam Temporary Speaker. It is a shame that because of all these challenges we are facing in the wheat sector, out of 100 per cent of the wheat consumed in this country, the wheat that we produce in Narok, Uasin Gishu and Nyandarua counties The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1525575,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525575/?format=api",
"text_counter": 241,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 407,
"legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
"slug": "ledama-olekina"
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"content": "is only 5 to 8 per cent. What is so hard for millers to mop up that 5 to 8 per cent? They still import wheat from outside the country. Let me appreciate the work of the new Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Development, Hon. Mutahi Kagwe. I am happy that he listened and saw where the problem is. He knew that those people had 260,000 metric tonnes of wheat at the port. However, farmers in Narok, Uasin Gishu and Laikipia have got about 320,000 metric tonnes. They need to go and buy all those bags first before they are given approval to offload the ship. He told them to pay the demurrages as they wish. They are all crying, but we have to be our brothers’ keepers. We have to make sure that we protect the people who give us an opportunity to serve them here. The gentleman called Hillary from Bomet should awaken our desire to help uplift the standard of living of our people. This should be very dear to all of us. It should be something we should take seriously because if those people are not happy, trust me, you are the ones who will get all those phone calls asking you to help them. Madam Temporary Speaker, I am happy that the committee recommends that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development must develop a support mechanism for the rural farmers. That support mechanism should not be left only to the Ministry. It has to go down to the county governments. I am happy that all of us agree that we should introduce agricultural extension officers. When we were growing up, it was fun being a child in this country. You would find agricultural extension officers coming. In fact, back then when we used to grow wheat, you would go to school knowing that there is a crop and somebody would come to buy it. Even if you did not have school fees, the fact that you had a crop in the field, that would give you a ticket to education. Now, nobody is sure whether they will harvest whatever they plant. Madam Temporary Speaker, you should have seen the frustration and anger of the wheat farmers in Narok County. When I asked them what was going on, they were like; where were you when we were suffering? Little did we know that we have issues. We must ask ourselves how we should educate our farmers. The biggest problem we have is that we are not educating our farmers. When Nyeri County farmers complain about tea or coffee, unless the distinguished Senator for Nyeri goes there and educates them, to tell you the truth, the county government may not invest in educating them. Since we have this national platform, let us ensure that the decisions we make here trickle down. This is a House of union because it unites all the 47 counties on issues that affect our people. I was listening to the distinguished Senator for Tana River talking about compensation of the farmers. The way we are busy drumming up support for the Social Health Authority (SHA) and saying that we want universal healthcare, we should do the same for food security. I wish Members of the National Assembly were listening to this. We should encourage industries to be established in rural areas and waive 100 per cent taxes for innovation because that is the only way. If you have industries across the 47 counties, you will encourage more people to develop new seed and grow crops. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1525576,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525576/?format=api",
"text_counter": 242,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 407,
"legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
"slug": "ledama-olekina"
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"content": "There is absolutely no reason as to why I should be buying unga wa ugali from Mombasa yet I grow maize in Narok. How many people are in Narok? We have over 1.4 million people. That economy should sustain itself. I am glad that the distinguished Senator for Bungoma is listening. Sometimes it behoves us to think how to devolve all the services. For example, we can take seed inspectorate services to Bungoma, Narok or Bomet counties, so that immediately we realise there is a disease affecting farmers, action is taken locally. If you go the KEPHIS, before they send somebody to the ground, you might be asked to fuel their vehicle. That does not just happen in the crops, but also in the livestock sector. Madam Temporary Speaker, did you know that for them to test pesticides and acaracides for spraying cows, they do all the testing in Trans Mara? If you have a cow in Bungoma County that has tick borne disease, if a new acaracide has been brought to help solve that problem, unless the testing is done in Kilgoris, there is no way you can use it. We need to divorce ourselves from the old mentality, control and bureaucracy and open the field. As I conclude, I hope that the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries will support my Bill once it is tabled because it goes into the call of this Petition, so that at least this Parliament can be remembered as having solved the problem of that maize disease. Finally, Madam Temporary Speaker, it is time that KEPHIS mopped up all the maize seeds causing that disease. There is no way you can have one seed for 12 years and that disease spreads every year. There is something wrong with it, unless somebody is protecting it. The KSC and all other companies that sell seed must look at that seed. As far as I am concerned, many seeds come from Kitale. However, those diseases are not in Kitale. I am wondering what is going on. Is it because of the pesticides we use that are causing those diseases because maize seeds are grown in Kitale? They are certified that good. However, once they are planted in Narok or Bomet, they have diseases. Is it the pesticides? Is it that we have really corrupted our soils to a point where any crop you put in it just dies? Those are the questions that we must ask ourselves. Madam Temporary Speaker, I fully support this report. I hope that the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, even though we do not have an implementation committee, will follow through to make sure that all your recommendations, which are sound, are implemented."
},
{
"id": 1525577,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525577/?format=api",
"text_counter": 243,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, let me begin by appreciating the Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Hon. Sen. Wakoli moved this report this afternoon. I also appreciate the rest of the members of that committee, particularly those who are involved in the investigations to the Petition that was filed before the committee leading to this report today. To the team, it is one thing to receive it and it is another thing to make the recommendations that they have made in regards to this Petition. When history is written, this young man, Kerich Hilary, who is my namesake, Kiprono and who comes from the world that I come from in Bomet County, will go into The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1525578,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525578/?format=api",
"text_counter": 244,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "the right path of it. This is for the reason that in the year 2011 and 12 years thereafter, leading all the way to 2021-2022, this MLND indeed affected over 90 per cent of the entire crop within Bomet County. It did not just affect the crop, but the entire livelihood of thousands and thousands of people. The decision by Kerich to file this Petition and to seek for the recommendations that ultimately has come from this committee have really made me proud as a citizen of this country, particularly where it is speaking to the mainstay of the livelihoods of thousands of people. Madam Temporary Speaker, when you look at the report itself and the investigations that were conducted, the disease did not only affect Bomet County, but it has spread over the country, including the neighboring countries. The sensitization that this Petition has brought in itself is something that is worth lauded and appreciated. I also appreciate the gentleman from Nyangores Ward, Hilary Kiprono Kerich, for taking this bold step. Despite the fact that he lamented in his Petition of the efforts that he made prior to filing this Petition, he did not give up or surrender because he had a vision to seek to establish the root cause of this disease. A description of the condition of the maize as a crop that has been affected by this disease is quite worrying, especially when it took more than 10 years for the Government to manage its spread and also the consequences that it has caused. Ordinarily, you would find a mature crop going up to two or three metres high. Madam Temporary Speaker, the only crop that they entirely rely on would only grow to a certain stage, barely a metre high, turns yellow and stagnates. It could affect the rest of the intercrops and ultimately, there is zero harvest. When we went before the committee - where I also appeared - the interrogations that went in, including the participation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, KALRO and the relevant other Government agencies, brought out the real challenge and effect of the disease. The most unfortunate thing and the sad situation about this is the fact that it has taken more than 10 years for this to be out of the shelves. Further challenge has been occasioned by the inability or the unwillingness of those who are involved in the county government because this is a devolved function. Agriculture is a devolved function. Madam Temporary Speaker, in the absence of a commitment on the part of those who are running the county and related agencies operating within the county government, the farmers or residents will have no other recourse to do what Hillary did. He filed Petition before the Senate leading to the involvement of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries to deal with this. The consequences of it, as I said, went beyond food security. This affected not only the people of Bomet, but it went beyond the county. It is something that would go to the national and the regional level. As I have stated in this aspect, the challenge is the absence of commitment and involvement of extension officers. The county government in most cases, especially Bomet County, has a budget that has already been set aside for purposes of this. Instead of investing in such very specific, public and of great concern agricultural aspects, the funds go into great waste in what we The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1525579,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525579/?format=api",
"text_counter": 245,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "have now made it as a devolved corruption. This is one of the reasons why Hillary decided to appear before the Senate. Madam Speaker, on the day that this gentleman appeared; that is in the year 2023 September, that was almost 11 years after the discovery of this particular disease. The consequences the appearance of the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development led to the decision of the Government at the national level. They took that decision to support in the control of the spread of this disease. By extend the supervision of the extension officers who ordinarily are expected to support the farmers and all those who are involved in dealing with this situation. This one intervention was aimed at ensuring that there is reduction in the extension and the spread of the disease for the future. They also supported farmers in order to ensure that they get appropriate seedlings that were either disease resistant or indeed a different variety. That would help the farmer to ensure that they harvest the crop. In other words, there was also a request, which in the petition came as a recommendation that farmers should be encouraged to ensure that they also diversify in having other varieties of the crop. In some instances, take crop insurance that will support them to mitigate the losses. The major gain out of this particular Petition is the recommendation that was made. Among them, of course, the fact that instead of just dealing with the maize as a crop, whether cash or by definition the mainstay of the farmer; they were encouraged that they should be able to have other varieties that are resistant. They should also ensure that they participate fully in terms of the engagement by the extension officers so that we are able to educate them on what to do; we are able to have extension services get to the farmers. A team that was set up by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. Where a multisectoral team was picked up to deal with this menace. As I speak, though we still have this challenge, we still have the disease though in some scattered situations or places. Last year was when we had the first harvest of this crop with limited effects of this disease. This means it is being phased out over time, courtesy of the interventions that were done by the national Government. In this instance, the interventions that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development in conjunction with KALRO and other related entities have participated in to support the farmers. This could not have happened had it not been for this Petition. This could not have happened had Hillary not taken it upon himself to create an attention in the context of the disease that affected farmers. Part of what has happened is that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Developmnent has held public barazas across the 75 divisions in the county. As a result, farmers have appreciated planting other varieties or other alternative crops. In Chepalungu constituency where I come from, farmers were encouraged to plant sweet potatoes and other subsistence crops instead of maize. That would not have happened had it not been for this Petition. As a consequence of this Petition, there has been a lot of public awareness and farmers have been informed on what they are supposed to do. I believe that the greatest The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1525580,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525580/?format=api",
"text_counter": 246,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "cause of this is the fake seeds that were supplied to the farmers. The most unfortunate situation is that the Government took more than ten years for to phase it out of the market. One of the requests that the petitioner sought is compensation. It is sad that in the year 2012, the Government rejected a request for compensation on the basis of lack of a policy. I believe that the proposed Bill sponsored by the Senator for Narok County, who is my neighbour, Sen. Olekina, will set up an enactment on the compensation to farmers. With that, if farmers are made to lose their harvest or investment courtesy of such fake seedlings or inability in the part of Government to create interventions, then they are entitled to compensation. I believe that in the context of the recommendation that has been made by the committee on the Petition filed, the demand for compensation is still alive. I believe that in the fullness of time, the farmers who sought for compensation having suffered for that period because the Government did not intervene will get compensation. I want to appreciate the contribution by the Members and the Members of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries who went out of their way. I wish that they visited this county to experience what farmers went through. However, in the absence of that visit, they still submitted before the House a report that I wish it will be implemented. Earlier on, in the Liaison Committee, we discussed that even though the Senate does not have an implementation Committee, we need to consider creating a Liaison Committee that comprises all the Chairpersons of the Committees and have it as an Implementation Committee. There is need for the reports that are relevant and core to the lowest level of representation that we have in this House be implemented. If we do so, we will ensure that the farmers or any other person who has been affected by such mishaps in the course of Government administration are compensated for lose that they incur. I support this Petition. I also want to tell Hilary that he should proceed to fight for the interest of the farmer and those who are unable to get to the place that he took this Petition to."
},
{
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"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525581/?format=api",
"text_counter": 247,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mumma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " We will hear from Sen. M. Kajwang’."
}
]
}