{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=155157","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=155155","results":[{"id":1569752,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569752/?format=json","text_counter":220,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. David Ochieng’","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Thank you. Next is the Member for Nambale, Hon. Mulanya."},{"id":1569753,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569753/?format=json","text_counter":221,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Nambale, Independent","speaker_title":"Hon. Geoffrey Mulanya","speaker":null,"content":" Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to speak on this Bill. As Members of this House, we need to expedite its legislation so that we can enact it into law. As has been stated, agriculture is the backbone of our economy. If we improve agriculture, we undoubtedly improve our economy. For a very long time, farmers in this nation have been left to fend for themselves. The Government has even attempted to subsidise fertiliser, but one must ask the question: as we provide this subsidy and supply this fertiliser, do we have enough trained officers to advise farmers across various regions on the appropriate fertiliser for their farms? The answer is no, as there is a lack of legislation and policy addressing this issue. I am thrilled to have a Bill that seeks to introduce an agricultural and livestock service policy. This is key in ensuring that our farmers have a resource for seeking advice, whether related to crops or livestock. Although agriculture is a devolved function, there is an urgent need for coordination between the two levels of government to effectively support farmers. If we leave this solely to the county governments, they may not be able to provide the necessary services to ensure our farmers are properly supported. Section 3 of the Bill seeks to foster coordination and collaboration in external services involving the national Government, county government, non-governmental organisations, educational institutions, research bodies, and other non-state actors. Due to the vacuum that has existed, many non-governmental organisations have stepped in, supplying various crops and encouraging farmers to plant them without adequate research. They also provide dairy cattle to farmers, but once a dairy farmer receives these cattle, there is often no veterinary service available to them. Consequently, many farmers resort to hiring unqualified individuals to treat their animals. Section 4 establishes the national extension services policy, which is extensive and far- reaching in regard to the capacity development of these services. We know that emerging issues arise in every sector; even in agriculture, we have farmers who are experiencing crop failure. This is not due to insufficient rain or inadequate fertiliser application; rather, it may be due to a lack of soil sampling conducted on their farms to advise them on which specific seeds are suitable for planting in their particular region. There is simply insufficient guidance to our The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."},{"id":1569754,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569754/?format=json","text_counter":222,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Nambale, Independent","speaker_title":"Hon. Geoffrey Mulanya","speaker":null,"content":"farmers. Many farmers approach the planting season without proper advice, purchasing seeds from agrovet stores and proceeding to their farms without knowing what they should plant. We understand that continuous professional development is essential in all careers. Likewise, in agricultural services, we must ensure that agricultural extension service providers are regularly trained. There should be periodic career advancement to allow them to research emerging issues, including new diseases affecting crops and livestock. Section 4 provides that every five years, both the national Government and the county governments will review the agriculture and livestock policy to evaluate emerging issues and establish what further action is required by our farmers. Hon. Temporary Speaker, in my analysis, this is a very important Bill but it has come late. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Government was properly advising farmers on what was supposed to be done. The Government dealt with emerging issues and advised on crops to be planted in various regions. Right now, we have a call for farmers in the Western Region to plant coffee but the question is, after we supply them with seedlings, who will advise them on the next step of how they will care for this crop and benefit from it? With those few remarks, I fully support this Bill and encourage my colleagues to expedite its passage so that we enact it into law. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."},{"id":1569755,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569755/?format=json","text_counter":223,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. David Ochieng’","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Well said. Member for Kisumu East."},{"id":1569756,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569756/?format=json","text_counter":224,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kisumu East, Independent","speaker_title":"Hon. Shakeel Shabbir","speaker":null,"content":" Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. When I was young, there were agricultural extension officers. As much as I understand the basis of this Bill, I do not understand why we need to reinvent the wheel. They were there. This Bill is just coming up with another Board with all their expenses and other things to come up and put together an agricultural policy statement. Looking at the membership of the Board, the Chairman is to be appointed by the Cabinet Secretary. I do not know why this Board needs to be there. Why can it not be a department in the Ministry of Agriculture? It should be the job of the Ministry of Agriculture to come up with a policy document, like the Ministry of Health does. I have been involved with the Ministry of Health, and we have done our draft document strategy papers for five years. I do not see why this should be done. I wonder why. What was the logic in the Senate going through this and reinventing the wheel? Agriculture is a pillar of our country. If we do not develop the sector, we will be like a three-legged stool when one of them is not working. My brother, Mhe. Adan from Mandera West mentioned earlier that even Saudi Arabia, which is in the middle of deserts, has started doing this. I am concerned why we want to marry agriculture with the national Government and the county government. The Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is a classic example of the way things went wrong. Why do you want to do it again? I see no reason for this. Our seeds were one of the best in Africa. We had the best agricultural research on seeds. Now, we have misused that. We had the Kenya Seed Company Limited (KSC), Western Seed Company and others. Now, most of these companies are moving to Zambia to develop seeds there. In the colonial times and even under the first 20 or 30 years, we had the capacity to develop the best maize seed in Africa, and now we are going to other places. Now, we want research. Research for what? We do not need to research. We know where we are going. We do not need these so-called white-collar workers coming in with their research. They need to roll down their sleeves and come up with a policy. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I am sorry, I called you Chairman. I am very sorry, Hon. Temporary Speaker. This is not what we want. We do not want another Board. As much as I would like to support some of the thoughts that have been given, I actually oppose the whole Bill. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."},{"id":1569757,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569757/?format=json","text_counter":225,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kisumu East, Independent","speaker_title":"Hon. Shakeel Shabbir","speaker":null,"content":"Livestock also covers fish, and that has been a big problem. We are spending too much money. I remember some time ago, we spent several billions shillings counting the fish in the Indian Ocean and nothing came out of that exercise. We are now going to open up parks all over yet we are not being told how we are developing the fishing industry. Lake Victoria is one of the most polluted lakes. We have a problem. How is this Extension Services Bill going to help us? Hon. Temporary Speaker, I think you know Namthoi in Kisumu East, which used to be one of the breadbaskets in that area but it has since been shut down. The extension workers do not go there. The county government has no interest in these things, or they have no money. When I was the Mayor of Kisumu, the agricultural extension service office was next to the District Commissioner’s (DC) office, and they used to go along. I remember that we did some dairy cattle promotion in Kajulu, and we worked together. Our problem is the fact that we are always keen to come up with a board, a committee or do something else, but we are not keen on implementation. That is solely the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture. Previously, our President was the Minister for Agriculture and he did a good job when he was there. This is a very important issue that we need to work on. Another issue that comes to my mind is the issue of irrigation. This country is saddled with a pre-colonial agreement that culminated in the Nile Treaty. In my Constituency, Kisumu East, we usually get floods, after which we get into a drought period. When we want to start saving water, we are told that the Nile Treaty does not allow us to have water dams. This is an issue we need to deal with. When we talk about it, we are told, “No, this is a national Government issue.” We also have a number of farmers who went ahead and got greenhouses. If you go to my constituency, it is a shame to see some of those greenhouses rotting. The farmers do not understand what is happening anymore. There was a company which had extension workers but they wanted to be paid, hence the initiative did not work. In Kisumu, we have peanuts, rice, cotton and sugar. Surely, we have one of the best rice and cotton in the country. Which extension workers do we need? The extension workers we need are the ones who are there. They need to be re-appointed. I suggest that this Bill, which I do not support, only refers to the issue of national Government. I was part and parcel of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC). I acknowledge that we made a mistake on health and agriculture. We should not have given these functions fully to the county governments. Even as I speak, we have problems with the UHC. When talking about combining the national Government with the county government on this, we should look at what happened to the UHC. We also have industrial parks. There is one not far away from you, Sir, in Siaya. Nearly Ksh1 billion is there yet the park is in the middle of nowhere, doing nothing. I do not know whether it is completed or not. We can even go and use that area to farm. We do not need to research some of these things that we know. How can you research something that you know about very well? That is where we are going wrong. As I conclude, I oppose this Bill. The paddy rice in Kisumu is being taken by Ugandans. They are coming to Kisumu and taking our paddy rice fields."},{"id":1569758,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569758/?format=json","text_counter":226,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. David Ochieng’","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Member for Keiyo North."},{"id":1569759,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569759/?format=json","text_counter":227,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Keiyo North, UDA","speaker_title":"Hon. Adams Korir","speaker":null,"content":" Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I rise to support the Bill. We are very loud and confident as a country that agriculture is the backbone of our economy. However, many factors cause us to lag behind in this sector. One of the major challenges is the lack of vibrant extension officers, which has led to farmers harvesting low- quality produce and livestock that do not meet market standards and are not attractive to the market. Quality farm produce and rearing of good livestock can only be achieved through The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."},{"id":1569760,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569760/?format=json","text_counter":228,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Keiyo North, UDA","speaker_title":"Hon. Adams Korir","speaker":null,"content":"continuous training of farmers. Having active and vibrant extension officers would allow farmers to adopt modern technologies, which would help our country to achieve food sustainability in the long run and boost foreign exchange. The Government has put in place many agricultural programmes such as distribution of avocado and coffee seedlings. However, the transaction ends once the seedlings are distributed. The Government provides the seedlings but it does not follow up because we lack extension officers who can follow up to ensure that farmers plant the seeds correctly, which would in turn give them value for money. Another issue is livestock breeding. We want to improve our animal breeds, but where are the experts to educate farmers to ensure that they receive proper training, and ensure that all the necessary steps are followed? That will ensure that all the animal semen that is distributed by county governments achieves its intended purpose. The Kenya Kwanza Government initiated a very noble programme of distributing sub- sidised fertilisers. However, it is high time we reviewed whether the fertilisers being provided are yielding the intended results. We are investing significant resources into providing farm inputs, but we have not sat down to assess whether we are achieving what we want as a country. The Government is also building industrial parks to store produce supplied by farmers. Where are the agricultural products? Having extension officers at the grassroots level is a very noble idea. This initiative will help farmers and the country to achieve the goal of food security, so that Kenyans do not face starvation. While agriculture is a devolved function, there are many gaps. The county governments seem to care little about what happens after distributing seedlings. It is high time the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development established a direct link with agricultural staff at the county level to ensure that farmers receive the necessary support and training to enable them to meet their goals in the agriculture sector. The Bill is timely because we have the necessary infrastructure, including industrial parks and airports. For instance, we have a major international airport in Eldoret, but there is little or no produce to supply to international markets. The focus on agricultural development will help our country to achieve its agricultural goals. With those remarks, I support the Bill."},{"id":1569761,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569761/?format=json","text_counter":229,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. David Ochieng’","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Well said. Member for Nyamira."}]}