Prof. Margaret Kamar

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 891 to 900 of 3067.

• 20 Feb 2019 in Senate: It is worth noting that the Government bought the maize that came from outside Kenya at Kshs 4,000 whereas farmers were paid Kshs 3,200. It is good to note that because it was not because of lack of maize – because we had maize and I have mentioned the figures – the 1.5 million bags was just a token. When the doors were closed, they did it knowing that they had not taken anything from the farmers. view
• 20 Feb 2019 in Senate: Further, there was no evidence that there were standards and quality checks by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) at the ports of entry. We visited Malaba and we discovered that KEBS only has one staff who was overwhelmed. We asked them whether they check moisture because moisture is the worst cause of aflatoxin and we were worried. As we were standing there, we saw lorries carrying maize crossing the border without any problem. When we asked them, they said they are alone and they do not have any equipment. So, it is important that we take note of this ... view
• 20 Feb 2019 in Senate: At the time of writing this report, not all farmers had been paid. However, most of the farmers have now been paid except those who are being punished for a fault which is not their own. We know that they are still being pursued. We know that there are cartels that have been taken to court. On what basis do you take one person who is a farmer and who took produce from other farmers to court and leave out an importer who imported a million bags? view
• 20 Feb 2019 in Senate: We also discovered that it is not only Mombasa port that maize entered into the country. Maize entered into the country through Moyale, Sio Port in Kisumu, Malaba and from everywhere. When the window was opened, maize came from all over. It is important to note that sometimes we punish the wrong people. The reason I am saying this is because we punish those who would have ensured food security in the country because of the allocations. view
• 20 Feb 2019 in Senate: One thing that I must mention is that if a farmer is an aggregator, because we call them aggregators, aggregating maize from other farmers, it is easy to know where they have aggregated it. If you talked to farmers from Trans Nzoia, you would know the figures because when we went round ourselves, we were given figures. Trans Nzoia County harvested 2.1 million bags in 2017, there were 4.2 million bags from Uasin Gishu County, 1.9 million bags from Nandi County, while Bungoma County produced 4.5 million bags. As I said, they had bumper harvests in that year. So, it ... view
• 20 Feb 2019 in Senate: Mr. Speaker, Sir, historically, farmers have received seamless support from the Government for production of maize. You heard from the farmers when we were in Eldoret and I appreciate that you chaired one of the hottest sessions when farmers were expressing themselves. Since Independence, farmers in this country have been respected The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate. view
• 20 Feb 2019 in Senate: to a certain level. Farmers stated that they used to receive seamless support from the Government when it came to production and marketing. This was because they used to get their farm inputs from the Kenya Farmers Association (KFA), financial support from the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) and offtake agreement with the NCPB. When there was crop failure, farmers were also cushioned because there was something called Guaranteed Minimum Returns (GMR). view
• 20 Feb 2019 in Senate: It is time that the Senate pushed for something to be done because we all know that agriculture is devolved. We need to look for ways of cushioning our farmers especially if we are serious about having food security as one of the Big Four agenda. There is no way you can talk of food security if we have maize coming in from outside this country. It is important that we think about how farmers used to enjoy farming in those days. view
• 20 Feb 2019 in Senate: As we went round, we realised that the poorest people that we have in this country are farmers. They are the only ones still living in grass-thatched houses and cannot afford new farm implements. When some of us were young, farmers used to buy farm implements almost annually. I remember farmers were the richest people and they used to have the best vehicles in the society. Now, they have completely been reduced to poverty. view
• 20 Feb 2019 in Senate: As maize farmers continue to suffer unwarranted challenges related to expensive land preparation and costs due to lack of support from agricultural mechanization, county governments have given them very limited support. This is important for the Senate to note. County governments should be our areas of interest. We need to make decisions here that will change the way they deal with their farmers because they do not seem to have understood the fact that agriculture is fully devolved. Farmers are also frustrated by regular procedures and technicalities during delivery of maize to the NCPBs. view