Sergeant-at-Arms, I direct that you ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes.

Sergeant-at-Arms you may stop the Quorum Bell. Hon. Members, we may now begin. First order.

Hon. Naomi Waqo on behalf of the Leader of the Majority Party, you may proceed.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table: 1. Order gazetting the Host Country Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kenya and the Global Centre for Adaptation and the Explanatory Memorandum from the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs. 2. Submission of nominees to the National Government Constituencies Development Fund committees for the following nine constituencies— (a) Chuka/Igambang’ombe (b) Dadaab (c) Funyula (d) Gatundu South (e) Ikolomani (f) Kandara (g) Mathira, Suba North (h) Wajir East 3. Reports of the Auditor-General and Financial Statements on Physiotherapy Council of Kenya for the years ended 30th June 2018, 30th June 2019, 30th June 2020, 30th June 2021, 30th June 2022, 30th June 2023 and 30th June 2024 and the certificates therein. 4. Reports of the Auditor-General and Financial Statements for the years ended 30th June 2021, 30th June 2022 and 30th June 2024 and the certificates therein in respect of— (a) Loreto High School, Limuru (b) St. Teresa’s Secondary School 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.

5. Reports of the Auditor-General and Financial Statements for the years ended 30th June 2022, 30th June 2023 and 30th June 2024 and the certificates therein in respect of— (a) Aberdare Teachers Training College (b) Mandera Teachers Training College 6. Reports of the Auditor-General and Financial Statements for the year ended 30th June 2024 and the certificate therein in respect of— (a) AIC Itoloni Girls Secondary School (b) Balambala Technical and Vocational College (c) Barazani Girls High School (d) Bungoma National Polytechnic (e) Bute Girls Secondary School (f) David Mbiti Wambulu Technical and Vocational College. (g) Garissa High School (h) Ikutha Technical and Vocational College (i) Kitui High School (j) Mandera Secondary School (k) Maranda High School (l) Mbitini Girls Secondary School (m) Saka Girls Secondary School (n) St. Thomas Aquinas Kalawa Boys Secondary School (o) Wayam Secondary School. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Next Paper is by the Chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee. Hon. Atandi, are you ready?

Not yet. Okay, we will come to you next. Let us go to the Paper by the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Blue Economy, Water and Irrigation. Hon. Bowen, are you ready?

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I beg to lay the following Paper on the table of the House: Report of the Departmental Committee on Blue Economy, Water and Irrigation on its consideration of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Biodiversity in Areas beyond the National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Hon. Members, we shall move to the next Order. We will come back to Order No.5, at a later time when the Chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee is ready. Before we move to the next order, allow me to welcome two schools seated in the Public Gallery: Little Prince School from Kibra Constituency, Nairobi County and St. Bakhita Girls School from Makueni Constituency, Makueni County. On behalf of the Speaker and Members of Parliament, we welcome you to Parliament. Thank you. Next Order.

Again, we shall skip the first one by the Chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee to a later time. Let us move to the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Blue Economy, Water and Irrigation.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion: That this House adopts the report of the Departmental Committee on Blue Economy, Water and Irrigation on its consideration of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond the National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), laid on the table of the House on Wednesday, 4th June 2025, and pursuant to the provisions of Section 8(4) of the Treaty Making and Ratification Act, 2012 approves the ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond the National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you. Next Order.

Hon. Members, as we proceed to Committee of the whole House, we shall stand down the Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill (National Assembly Bill No.61 of 2022). The team that was supposed to harmonise the amendments, led by Hon. Nyikal, has not yet met. So, we will stand it down to a later time after they inform us.

Mover of the amendment.

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move…

Hold on for a minute, Hon. Mayaka. The Mover will be the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining, Hon. Kamuren.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. I beg to move: THAT, the Bill be amended by deleting Clause 2 and substituting therefor the following new clause— Amendment of “2. Section 42 of the Environmental Management and Co- section 42 of ordination Act is amended in subsection (3) by inserting the Cap.387. following new paragraphs immediately after paragraph (b)— (ba) the prohibition of the introduction, growth or maintenance of trees of the eucalyptus species in and along any river, lake, sea or wetland; (bb) the prohibition of the introduction, growth or maintenance of any invasive species or other potentially dangerous species;” Thank you.

Hon. Kamuren, you need to give a justification.

Marakwet East, UDA): On a point of order, Hon. Chairlady.

Hon. Kangogo Bowen, what is your point of order?

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I want to just inform my good friend, Hon. Kamuren that any amendment a Member moves must have a justification so that other Members can understand what is being proposed for amendment.

I am in agreement. Proceed, Hon. Kamuren.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. The justification for this amendment is to allow the Cabinet Secretary to make regulations on the introduction and maintenance of these trees. When they were introduced along river banks some years ago, they consumed large volumes of water and most rivers ended drying up. There has been a lot of complaints over the same in most areas of the country. So, there is need for change so that rivers can be preserved. The best way to do this is to stop the growth of this species along river banks for the sake of our people so that they can get enough water for use. This amendment is very necessary to enable the Cabinet Secretary to make regulations that will save the sources of water in this country. If you look at the reports from different counties, there are serious complaints about the eucalyptus species. They have become dangerous. However, we cannot brand them as dangerous yet they are natural trees. So, the best thing is to regulate their growth. The Cabinet Secretary cannot regulate without authority which has to be within the law. So, this amendment will give him the powers to make the regulations. We are not saying that we want to do away with this species. No! What we are saying is that, it should be regulated within the parameters of the law. That is why this amendment is necessary. I am very sure where Hon. Kangogo comes from in Marakwet they have a lot of challenges because of the eucalyptus species. Thank you, Hon. Chairlady.

Thank you, Hon. Chairperson. Members are sufficiently persuaded. 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.

I will give the first chance to Hon. Mayaka. She is the sponsor or the Bill.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. I agree with the proposed amendment by the Departmental Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining. We delved on this matter extensively. The Committee is right in being specific on where we want the regulations to be implemented. It has also included in the amendments that we are not only looking at the eucalyptus species but any invasive species. So, that if we have any invasive species in the future, we will not have to come back to amend this Clause again. It is sufficiently covered. I support. Thank you, Hon. Chairlady.

Hon. CNN.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. We categorically and comprehensively dealt with this amendment during the Second Reading. I support it. The effects of global warming are affecting our rivers. We want to do away with some of these species which are draining our rivers for us to protect the environment. I support the amendment. Thank you, Hon. Chairlady.

The Member for Westlands, Hon. Wanyonyi.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. I also support this amendment. We have witnessed the damage of the eucalyptus trees in our constituencies. They are very hazardous and have messed up our ecosystem. Regulating them will secure our rivers. Somebody mentioned that these trees have a bad smell and that birds do not perch on them. Thank you, Hon. Chairlady.

Hon. Sergon, the Member for Baringo.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. I also support this amendment. In the world today, the environment is becoming a real threat to human species. I can remember I sat with my colleague and sister when she was preparing this Bill on the eucalyptus species. Most of the people who contributed gave clear information on how this species has affected livelihoods, specifically along river banks. Therefore, I support the amendment. There will be a big difference if we regulate the species to make the environment habitable for all of us. Thank you, Hon. Chairlady.

The Member for Sirisia.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. I also stand to support this amendment on prohibition of the introduction, growth or maintenance of trees of the eucalyptus species in and along any river, lake, sea or wetland. Many rivers in the country have dried because of the eucalyptus species which drains a lot of water from the soil along river banks. We need to protect the environment of our country. Our President has ensured that we plant many trees to replace the eucalyptus species. I support.

Hon. Gikaria.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. I also rise to support this amendment. The aspect of rivers and water catchment areas is very key. To be honest, if you go around the country and see where the eucalyptus trees have been planted along rivers they are drying up. It is important for us to give the Cabinet Secretary the opportunity to make regulations through this amendment, so that this species can be contained. I support. Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. 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.

Hon. Sunkuli you will be the last person. Everybody has spoken.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. I want to support and also request the Government to do a little more. There was a time eucalyptus trees were promoted as having originated from South Africa and as a fast-maturing tree. People ended up planting them everywhere with little results. They are very thin eucalyptus trees that do not grow in Kenya. Mostly, they are required for power posts. Our rivers are suffering due to these trees. The eucalyptus tree is an indigenous tree from Australia that was introduced to absorb water. Australia is surrounded by the sea. In Africa, it has come to suck the little water that we have. This is a very good law and I support.

Mover. Hon. Irene Mayaka, you are the Mover.

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move that this House do agree with the report of the Committee of the whole House on its consideration of Environmental Management and Co-ordination (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.66 of 2023). I also request the Hon. Kamuren to second the Motion.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. I second.

Hon. Mayaka, just go back and move reporting. Hon. Mayaka, proceed to take that again.

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move that the Committee do report to the House its consideration of the Environmental Management and Coordination (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.66 of 2023) and its approval thereof with amendments.

Chairperson.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of the whole House has considered the Environmental Management and Coordination (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.66 of 2023) and approved the same with amendments.

Mover.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to move that this House do agree with the report of the Committee of the whole House on its consideration of Environmental Management and Co-ordination (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.66 of 2023). I also request Hon. Kamuren to second the Motion.

Hon. Kamuren.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. I second.

Can I put the question?

Yes!

Hon. Mayaka, move the Third Reading.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to move that the Environmental Management and Coordination (Amendment Bill) (National Assembly Bill No.66 of 2023) be now read a Third Time. I also request Hon. Naomi Waqo to second.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I second.

Put the question!

The mood of the House is that I put the question. I have confirmed that we have the requisite quorum in the House for purposes of making this decision.

Hon. Members, before we move to the next Order, I wish to recognise the presence of the following school seated in the Public Gallery: The Nairobi 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.

Academy from Langata Constituency, Nairobi City County. On behalf of the House and the substantive Speaker, I welcome you to Parliament. Thank you.

Hon. Members, we now move back as I had indicated earlier to Order Nos.5 and 6 to allow the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee to lay a Paper. Hon. Atandi.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table: Report of the Budget and Appropriations Committee on its consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the Financial Year 2025/2026 and the Medium Term and the Compendium of Departmental Committee Reports on the consideration of the Annual Estimates.

Read out the next Order. We will now go to Order No.6. Just state it out. It is notice of Motion.

Hon. Atandi, proceed.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion: THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Budget and Appropriations Committee on its consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure and the Medium Term for the Financial Year 2025/2026 laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, 4th June 2025, and pursuant to provisions of Article 221 of the Constitution, Section 39 of the Public Finance Management Act (Cap. 412A) and Standing Order 239: (a) Approves the issuance of a sum of Ksh2,538,293,978,440 from the Consolidated Fund to meet the expenditure during the year ending 30th June 2026 in respect of the votes contained in the First Schedule subject to paragraph (c) ( Committee of Supply ). (b) Makes the policy and financial resolutions contained in the Schedule to the Report. (c) Orders that the Speaker do now leave the Chair to facilitate the consideration of the said Budget Estimates with respect to each vote and programme in the Committee of Supply as contemplated under Standing Order 240 ( Consideration of Estimates in the Committee ofSupply ). Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you. Next Order.

Hon. (Dr) John Mutunga, proceed.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to move that the Agriculture and Livestock Extension Services Bill (Senate Bill No.12 of 2022) be now read a Second Time. This country has gone through a lot of changes, especially in the agricultural sector. Way back in the 1990s and early 2000s, the country was performing extremely well because we had an organised agricultural extension system. The agricultural extension system covers both agriculture and livestock. We have had an evolution of extension services in the country, offered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. At some point, the Ministry of Agriculture was merged with the Ministry of Livestock Development and extension services were harmonised over time. Even when these ministries were separate, extension services were offered very well. Extension services are part of devolved functions. At the start of devolution, most extension officers were released to county governments. Unfortunately, there has not been 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.

continuous or progressive hiring of extension officers to replace retired ones or those that have gone through natural attrition. The last time the Government seriously hired extension officers, and I remember this very clearly, was in 1989. That is when we had a complete uptake of all the extension service graduates from both universities and diploma colleges. After that, the Government has been sparingly replacing those who leave either through retirement or other forms. Extension services have gone down considerably in this country. There was the expectation that after devolution, county governments would take up extension services very seriously. Unfortunately, this has not happened because the budgetary allocation to agriculture has been dwindling over time. At the national level, allocation to agriculture has also not been doing very well. Lumped under agriculture, rural and urban development, the extension services sector is currently number nine in terms of priority, and yet it is a sector that supports most of the population in this country and produces most of what we export out of this country. The sector provides raw materials to our industries and earns us foreign exchange. So, it is delicate. However, it is majorly private. Extension services are necessary and this Bill seeks to reconfigure these services in the present. The Bill was passed by the Senate and brought to us. I am the co-sponsor. The Bill has several parts. Part I basically deals with preliminaries: definitions of terms and objectives of the Bill. The key objective of this Bill is to come up with a mechanism to provide farmers with technologies, innovations and management practices generated by our research institutions and universities. These technologies, innovations and management practices have not been reaching farmers in time. It is known that technology transfer is necessary for farmers to improve productivity. It is also a fact that Kenya has limitations in terms of arable land. So, we are left to improve on productivity. To do that, we must take up research findings. This can only be done through extension services. Since there are weaknesses in these services, this Bill seeks to awaken the consciousness of Kenyans, especially those in the management of the sector to see how to revive these services. The first objective of this Bill is basically to foster coordination and collaboration in extension service research by the national and county governments, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), learning institutions, research bodies and other non-State actors. We are looking at all players involved in generating technologies, innovations and management practices such national research institutions, universities and colleges. It could also be done by Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centres (CGIAR) – international research organisations like International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) and International World Research Institute (ILRI) which are located in this country and have the objective of generating technologies, innovations and management practices. These technologies, innovations and management practices could be focused on specific areas of the country. They are necessary for improved agricultural productivity. The other objective is to promote generation of high incomes for farmers and traders through increased production by use of competitive materials. These are inputs such as seeds or genetic materials in livestock development. Farmers must be apprised on where to get unadulterated inputs. Some input suppliers have been accused once or many times for selling wrong or non-viable inputs. That loophole needs to be sealed; and the only way to do so is to ensure that agricultural extension services are organised in such a way that farmers know where to get the correct information. One of the Bill’s objectives is continuous and sustained research on extension services for the development of the agricultural and livestock industries. The agricultural industry 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.

involves crop development, which involves getting better seed varieties and planting materials. We also need better breeds of animals. We need fast maturing animals for beef production and high yielders in terms of milk production from dairy animals. That information cannot be generated and accessed by farmers if there is no organised system of transferring innovations and technologies to them through extension services. The fourth objective is the adoption of a sector-wide approach in provision of extension services, which enables access to appropriate quality services from the best service providers to attain higher productivity, increase income and the standards of living for Kenyans. We are referring to the standards of living for Kenyans because the great majority of Kenyans are aged or depend on agriculture as their major means of livelihood. They may not know where to get the best extension services. We need an extension service where farmers can access technical information from proven experts. As a Committee, we have been looking at how to professionalise agricultural extension services and identify agricultural professionals because we have agri-preneurs or agricultural practitioners who are mainly investors in agricultural input supply and agrochemicals, but are not necessarily qualified to offer extension services. Unfortunately, we do not have a regulatory mechanism to take care of this sector in that respect. We are also coming up with a Bill that will identify and license agricultural technicians and professionals. We shall then be able to clean up the agricultural sector to know who the right people are to offer extension and advisory services. Many other bodies also offer agricultural extension services. We need a mechanism of cleaning up or approving those bodies so that we can be sure that our farmers are getting quality education when it comes to advisory on farming and livestock keeping. The final objective of the Bill is for the provision of financial support to various players in the extension services. The Bill proposes a fundraising mechanism to support extension services. The Bill separates issues to be handled by the national Government and those to be handled by the county governments. The national Government handles issues to do with research because research cannot be localised and research products need to be transferred to all those who may need them. International trade is also domiciled at the national level because international trading systems involve complex agreements. When it comes to trading in agricultural products, competent authorities have been identified across different players, actors, members or parties in a trading system. Only those competent authorities can qualify products for human consumption in various countries in view of the Codex Alimentarius or the international system of qualifying what can be consumed by human beings.

Capacity building is also domiciled at the national level because the national Government or the Ministry is capable of linking up with other institutions across the world to get information, verify it and also link up with research and education systems in the country to qualify it. The Bill also goes further to identify the regulatory functions to be domiciled in the national Government.

The transfer of knowledge and technology at the local level is left to the county governments. The county governments need to identify the problems that the farmers are facing, the mechanisms that can be used to pass information to the farmers, and the concentration of farmers in various parts of the country to determine how they can be assisted to access information. The county governments have been charged with a diagnostic function to identify exactly what our farmers are suffering from. We need to ask ourselves how often the issues captured in the Bill occur. We are living in an age where information, communication and technology (ICT) is very key. If it is not fully integrated in the Bill, we need to ensure that it becomes a major application.

Many institutions have been established in this country to support agricultural development such as universities, national and international research institutions, control 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.

institutions like the Pest Control Products Board, which monitors the pesticides that come into the country, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) and others. We also have the Agricultural Information Resource Centre (AIRC) which synthesises information from various sources such as universities and research institutions and passes it on to Kenyans for consumption by the farmers. The AIRC is one of the facilities that needs to be looked into as we try to configure extension services in our country. As we discuss the Bill, we need to ask ourselves the extent to which these facilities support extension services and how they will be progressively supported to generate and manage information for consumption by the farmers.

The Bill goes further to identify the various players in the agricultural sector, who are each given roles. We need to ask ourselves where Kenya wants to go. If we look at the current Government's Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, six out of the nine priority value chains are in agriculture. Those value chains include beef, dairy, leather, rice and coffee. Targets have been set for those value chains. To improve coffee production to meet our quota, we must open up more land to grow coffee and intensify coffee production. That cannot be done by smallholder farmers without appropriate information. They need to understand how to test soils and identify the kind of fertiliser required for optimal productivity. Farmers also need to know when to spray, for what reason, to protect their crops from which insects or pests, and from which diseases. They must understand how to regulate their activities, and for that to happen, they need proper advice. The only mechanism available for advising farmers is through extension services. If there is a function that is consistently cited as having failed in this country, it is the extension service. Everyone who speaks about it refers to it in the past tense. They do not describe an elaborate or functioning system today. There are many reasons for this. One of them is that after the implementation of the 2010 Constitution and the creation of county governments, with agriculture devolved, the responsibility shifted. Staff from the previous system were inherited, many of whom have since upgraded their qualifications from certificate to diploma, degree, and even master's level. As a result, they may no longer be available to provide services at the grassroots level. Previously, extension was organised so that a certificate-level officer would be stationed at the unit level. The country was divided into agricultural extension units. At the locational level, there would typically be a diploma holder coordinating these officers, and at the district level, there was an extension advisor or officer coordinating district activities. That system worked well because information flowed both ways and farmers received timely advisory support. Today, farmers are largely on their own. This Bill seeks to re-focus efforts and place advisory services back at the centre of agricultural development. It is not possible for farmers to produce better or increase productivity without access to such services. Not all farmers are well-informed. While we may say most of our farmers have gone to school, schooling is different from receiving specific, thematic agricultural advice. This Bill, therefore, aims to reform and revitalise extension services. The final part of the Bill addresses the financing mechanism. It proposes government support to the extension service and the establishment of a dedicated fund to sustain these services. We acknowledge that creating such a fund is not easy, especially for a system that does not currently generate any levies. However, it is possible to introduce levies for extension services. That said, we cannot begin charging for extension services abruptly. We must be organised. Several services in the agricultural sector have been commercialised before farmers were adequately prepared. One example is the tick control system, where government-managed cattle dips once helped control tick infestations. The Government supplied acaricides and managed the dips. Another example is the commercialisation of clinical services for livestock, again without properly preparing the farmers. Therefore, if we are to commercialise extension services, we must proceed with caution. The process must be well managed, and the transition 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.

handled sensitively. Farmers must see the value in what we are proposing. This Bill proposes the establishment of an institution to manage extension services nationally. This institution will be responsible for regulating extension, evaluating its performance, and determining whether farmers are receiving the necessary information. It will also identify new sources of information, develop user-friendly ways to package this information, and ensure continuous flow of communication. There must be a feedback mechanism because unless farmers express their needs and unless extension becomes demand-driven, we risk oversupplying irrelevant information. Supply does not guarantee that farmers will use what is provided. Therefore, extension must be demand-driven, where farmers can clearly articulate what they require. The mechanism we design must be efficient in identifying relevant information and relaying it promptly. The effectiveness of this proposed function will depend on how well we refine the process. This Bill essentially seeks to revive the extension service function. County governments will be held accountable, just as the national Government will be. Regulatory institutions have also been identified as key sources of support. Extension is not only about farmers. It means informing the entire agricultural sector. We must always be aware of ongoing developments, price trends, regional variations, and market opportunities so that farmers can make informed decisions and even target markets beyond our borders. With those few remarks, I move that this Bill be read a Second Time, and I request the Hon. Millie to second.

Thank you. Before Hon. Millie seconds, I wish to recognise the presence of the following school seated in the Speaker's Gallery: South Tetu Girls High School from Mukurweini Constituency, Nyeri County. Hon. Millie, as you second, kindly welcome them on our behalf.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. Before I second, I wish to welcome the students who have come to Parliament today. It is truly a privilege. They may not realise it now, but very few students get the opportunity to come into this House. When you are here, remember that some of us were once your age and once aspired to be where we are today. With a focused mind, it is entirely possible for you to get here. So, if there is anything you take away from today, let it be the belief in yourself and the possibilities ahead of you. You can become anything, not only politicians, but engineers, doctors, and much more. On behalf of Parliament, we welcome you to the Parliament of Kenya. Even as I second this Bill, I wish to congratulate the Chair for bringing it forward. I shall be brief. Under the 2010 Constitution, we now have a devolved system of governance that channels significant funding to counties, particularly in agriculture and health. In the previous governance structure, extension services were robust. However, perhaps due to teething problems, although it has taken some time, we find that extension services in most counties have collapsed. This is unfortunate, as Kenya is agriculturally rich. This is the case and yet our agricultural output has declined significantly. Despite our potential, we are not food sufficient. We could even be exporters of food, but the lack of investment and focus on extension services has compromised that potential. Therefore, it will be very important that we re-focus on those extension services including putting a lot of effort on capacity building and ensuring that devolution works at all levels; even to the village level. Many of our farmers are currently struggling on their own. I do not want to speak much because I know there are many Members who wish to contribute to this Bill. If there is anything else remaining, I will bring by way of any proposed amendments. I congratulate the Chairman, and I second. Thank you.

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.

Members who want to contribute to this debate, kindly put the intervention button. Hon. Mugambi, the Member for Buuri.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Bill. For a long time, when we were growing up, we used to see agricultural extension officers. We used to see them advising farmers on the best farming practices, how to prepare the fields for planting, and how to prepare even the animals on various stages of growth. Our economy relies entirely on agriculture. To be very specific, we export coffee, tea, and we are now exporting livestock products. For a long time, our farmers have been left alone after the withdrawal of many of these extension officers. Farmers need education on best practices on agriculture. Agriculture is the main source of income for our people in this country. We need to ensure that agriculture and livestock sustains itself because of the great role it plays in the economy of this country. After devolution there was a division of responsibilities, with the national Government taking up the responsibility of policy, and the county government taking up implementation. This Bill is establishing a clear relationship on how the national Government will operate and coordinate with the county government. Our farmers need training and education now particularly, because there is a lot of change in the climate. Areas that were not productive before are now turning to become important areas of agricultural production. We should not leave our farmers behind with the ongoing changes in climate and in soil conditions. We need to start educating our farmers on the best farming practices. Therefore, the responsibility of the agricultural extension officers is very important. Everywhere in the world right now, farming requires advanced technologies. We have seen best practices linking up farmers with the best technologies to enable them do the best farming. These extension officers will play a very great role in ensuring there is transfer of technology. This is because they have the capacity of learning and disseminating the knowledge on technology transfer. The extension officers play a very great role in linking our farmers to various farm inputs and markets. We have seen many young people and our gracious women requiring a lot of empowerment in farming. These people are asking for farm inputs. They are also asking for markets. There is nobody to advise them on what to do and where to go. I believe that with extension officers, farmers will get all this knowledge and be able to execute their responsibilities. We need to collect a lot of data. Hon. Deputy Speaker, remember you brought a matter on Cancer in this Parliament, which is associated with a lot of chemicals being used in farms in the rural areas. There is nobody who is focused to know what kind of information farmers have, what kind of problems farmers are facing, or what kind of chemicals are being used for a particular area. We, therefore, believe that if the agricultural extension officers are there, they will collect vital information on soil textures, and on areas that are affected by many diseases associated with chemicals that are being used. We believe that agricultural extension officers can collect information on the changing trends in agriculture for specific areas. It is very important, particularly now, that we encourage our young people in the rural areas to form cooperatives and self-help groups. I believe the agricultural extension officers are in a better place to assist these farmers form these groups. These groups have now been left to Members of Parliament, yet these are very technical areas. The agricultural extension officers are the people who can sit down with farmers, tell them what kind of groups they need to form, where to go, and where to register. They are not only confined to the actual agriculture, but they can also offer social information to our farmers. 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.

This is, therefore, a very important Bill. It needs to be passed and implemented as quickly as possible. We need to set aside and appropriate funds as the National Assembly, because the Government has set the policy. We need to appropriate funds to go towards the recruitment of these extension officers. We have too many graduates out there with certificates, diplomas, and degrees in extension services; specifically, in agriculture and livestock. It is, therefore, vital that we pass this Bill because it will give direction to agricultural policy in this country. I support.

Member for Kilgoris, Hon. Sunkuli.

I also beg to support. The Chairman who has moved this Motion has done a good job. He has said everything that needs to be said about…

Hon. Sunkuli, allow me to interrupt you. Let me recognise the presence of these schools so that you can welcome them, because they might leave before we do that. I wish to recognise students sitting in the Public Gallery: Nkoile Boys High School, Kajiado Central Constituency, Kajiado County; Greenview Schools, Kasarani Constituency, Nairobi County; and Sabtet Junior School, Kuresoi North Constituency, Nakuru County. Hon. Sunkuli, welcome them as you contribute to the debate. Thank you.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I welcome all the students who have come from different parts of Kenya. It is good that they have all come together to see the National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya. From the outset, you learn the need to interact with the rest of Kenya. Welcome to the National Assembly where many of you will look into in future either as Members or voters. You will look at it as a House that will make a difference in your life. For the students from Kajiado, on behalf of the Member for Kajiado Central, I wish to say karibuni. Hon. Deputy Speaker, as I was saying, this is a very important Bill that has been brought by the Senate, and to this House by the Chairman. Growing up, my father was an extension officer. Those were the days when ‘extension’ had a meaning. When devolution came, we devolved the function of agriculture to county governments. This function is not very attractive to county governments. They do not treat it as a top priority. This notwithstanding the fact that in reality, every county has a budget line for agriculture. One thing that they have totally omitted to do is to recruit extension officers. I wonder from the point of view of the national Government, if a county government is not recruiting extension officers, and we are allowing universities and colleges to teach agriculture, are we not misleading the young people to go for courses where nobody will employ them? We have many people in our constituency with certificates, diplomas, and degrees in agriculture. They cannot be employed by the national Government because that function is devolved, yet the county governments have not shown any indication that they are going to employ them. It is important that colleges teaching agriculture reduce the ratio of students they are teaching because the number of students they are churning out who ought to be extension officers cannot be accommodated in the country. After all, the policy on recruitment in the county governments is wrong. I always decry Egerton University, our top agriculture university, on the way it is not coming up to standards nowadays. It is considered to be one of those universities that are going down the drain. This is the case and yet we say in this country that agriculture is important. If our premier university that trains agricultural officers is not doing a good job, where in the future, when we decide to recruit these people, are we going to get the real experts? Yes, Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology and other colleges of its kind are training people with certificates and diplomas. But what about the people who have a global knowledge of agriculture? Where are we going to have them trained if Egerton University cannot train them? 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.

The need for extension officers has become even more important. Before, coffee growing was a matter for the Mount Kenya region: Embu, Meru and Kiambu, which was a major coffee area. Today, because of the attraction of real estate, Kiambu is no longer a very strong coffee area. Now, areas like Kilgoris, Kitale and some parts of Uasin Gishu are the new areas of coffee growing. But the people of that area do not have an inherited knowledge of coffee growing. So, if we do not have extension officers going to the new areas where new crops are growing, who will teach the farmers of that area how to grow those crops? We have been very good at keeping our cattle in Maasai areas. But the shrinking land has made it necessary that we do more scientific breeding of cows. If we do not have extension officers, who is going to train the people how to improve their breeds? It is so important, because of the shifting nature of our economy, that we have people who are experts who train our people. Today, my place in Transmara does well mainly in sugar cane and coffee. But where are the extension officers to help train these people? In many areas of our pastoralist communities, the only doctor you get to inject your cows is the owner of the cow. Everybody knows that if you want to inject a cow, you just apply 10 cc of penicillin, Terramycin or something of that kind. But there is self-medication, if I may use the term, of our cows, by people who have not been trained, but believe they have the knowledge, even if the knowledge is very old, and is the only thing we have. So, farmers are all on their own. There is nobody out there to help them. So, it is important that even as we keep singing this song about devolution, because I know it is in fashion to say devolution is very good, but in some areas, it is costing us. We must ask the governors if they are ready to handle agriculture, or take it back to the centre. If they are not doing it, and the centre cannot be allowed to do it, then who is going to do it? We cannot afford to give lip service to agriculture. We have to say that agriculture is important, and we have to put our money where our mouth is. We cannot keep saying that yes, we are an agricultural country, yet we are not putting money, skills and everything that we need there. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to support.

The Member for Moiben, Hon. Phylis Bartoo.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to also contribute to this Bill on the Agriculture and Livestock Extension Services. I want to thank the Chair, the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, for bringing this very important Bill to Parliament. Once upon a time, before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) brought the structural adjustment programmes, extension services were very vibrant in our communities and particularly, Uasin Gishu. With time, such services diminished until a time when we no longer have such services. Agriculture is a very important aspect of our societies. It is the backbone of our country, especially where I come from, Uasin Gishu, where we are mainly farmers. This Bill is going to be very important for us because agriculture is the only thing on which the country can depend now. We have cases of unemployment, young people who graduate from school and are at home with no access to employment, yet we have vast land in Kenya. So, that is an area which needs to be resourced, established, and needs capacity, so that we can, at least, get people going to the farms, and get quality food from agriculture. We can even depend on it for exporting and international exchange, boosting the economy of our country. We have institutions of higher learning that are premier in research. Case in point is Egerton University. I know because I taught in that institution once upon a time. We have a lot of research which has been done in agriculture. We have credible professors like Professor Kahi, Professor Bebe and Professor Kemunto, who have pioneered research in agriculture, and they have generated a lot of knowledge.

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.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, they will transfer that knowledge to young people but there is a disconnect between the knowledge and the farmer. So, that information is just left in libraries and archives and may be in publications as theoretical papers. Nobody has translated that information to transform livelihoods, our farms or farmers. Hon. Temporary Speaker, if this Bill is given the justice it deserves, I am sure we will see some transformation. I am a product of agriculture; I went to school through agriculture because my parents were purely farmers, and we used to see people going around the farmers getting information and giving advice to our parents. They would advise them on the best practices, what type of animal breeds to keep, when there is a looming disease in the community and they would prepare them. Unfortunately, those services kept on dwindling; and now, I realise it seems the Government has not been employing extension experts to advise farmers. Farmers have been left at the mercy of quacks who masquerade as extension officers and charge them very exorbitant prices. I believe this Bill will solve such problems in our society so that we can get the best experts who are trained, who have the knowledge, capacity and who can train farmers in the language they understand. This is because not all farmers are educated. The Ministry of Agriculture is encouraging farmers, like in my community, to plant all sorts of crops, and keep all sorts of animals but without the relevant knowledge to go about it. For example, they are just sending coffee seedlings, avocado seedlings and different breeds of animals; these farmers are just on the receiving end. We politicians, also when we visit, we encourage them to diversify and plant different varieties of seeds but from a layman’s perspective. I am sure we are heading in the right direction because we will be able to get experts who will not just go to the field to train the farmers but mentor them and build capacity. With time, agriculture will transform our societies in a meaningful way. I also like the idea that in this Bill, licences will be given to the extension officers. They will be vetted to be licensed so that whenever they go to the field, they have proof that they are licensed officers to train farmers so that we eliminate cases like the one I referred to earlier about masquerades who visit homes in uniform and purport to be experts in everything. They talk about everything and we are not sure whether they have the capacity or know how of whatever they are professing. I support this Bill and look forward to a time when our farmers will get support, knowledge and capacity. I also read in the Bill that they will be well facilitated with loans to carry out the farming practices. So, I think it is a move in the right direction. Kenya being an agricultural country, we can take up agriculture and improve our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Well said. Hon. Members, join me in recognising and welcoming students seated at the Speaker’s Gallery. They are: Mt. Kenya State Road Academy, Kieni Constituency, Nyeri County and St. Benedict’s Wamutitu Secondary School, Mukurweini Constituency, Nyeri County. We also have students from Tassia Primary School, Embakasi East, Nairobi County who are seated in the Public Gallery. They are welcome to follow our Proceedings this morning and hope their visit here helps in their scope and mind in terms of what they are doing in school these days. Thank you. Next will be the Member for Tetu Constituency.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker for the opportunity. However, before I talk about the Bill before us, allow me to join you in warmly welcoming the students from Kieni and Mukurweini constituencies. They are my neighbours. 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.

On behalf of Hon. Kaguchia and Hon. Wainaina who are not here, I warmly welcome them to Parliament. I ask them to work hard and hopefully, a few of them will come to this House one day. That said, Hon. Temporary Speaker, allow me to lend my voice in support of the Agriculture and Livestock Extension Services Bill (Senate Bill No.12 of 2022). Growing up in rural Kenya in the 1980s and 1990s, I think we all witnessed the transformative power of agriculture. Most of us were educated by proceeds of coffee, tea and other crops and that is when there was money in farming. One of the catalysts then, was the presence of these agricultural extension officers but over the years, we have seen a very systematic collapse of these services and the final nail on the coffin came in 2012, I believe, when we finally devolved agriculture. As I have said in this House before, it is sad that a lot of good things that were devolved died on the floor of the counties. Agriculture despite being about 33 per cent of our GDP, contributes nearly 70 per cent in terms of employment and support for rural livelihoods. Yesterday, I came across a very interesting chat which was comparing crop production between Kenya and Tanzania, and the comparison years were 1961 and 2023. You realise that on maize, I think in 1961, we were producing an upward of a million metric tonnes of maize and Tanzania was only doing about 300,000. Today, we have about 3 million while Tanzania is at about 6 million and that is why we have become a net importer of Tanzanian maize. The same goes to rice, beans and very many other crops and as much as we may have ‘beef’ currently with Tanzania, we will have to admit that when they tell us that sarcastically in Kiswahili jirani hatachakula hana (our neighbours lack food) they really mean it because over time, we have let the agriculture sector down. Hon. Temporary Speaker, as land sizes shrink, as the vagaries of climate change affect us and as we deal with all the challenges that we have, productivity continues to go down. We have to make interventions to ensure that our farmers can produce more on the small pieces of land that they have. This calls for improved husbandry methods, better seeds, more effective use of pesticides and fertilisers, and disease control. Agricultural extension officers played this role. Since this function was taken to the counties, we have faced challenges. I have a sister who is an Agricultural Extension Officer and she gives me horrendous stories. Sometimes, she spends a month or two in the office without going to the field because her county cannot provide transport. There are also no tools to help farmers, even though she works in an agriculturally rich county. We must start introspecting on what we need to do about this problem. I am happy because the Bill that is before us seeks to revitalise this service. It is very timely. However, I am not a strong believer that every problem in this country will be solved by the Government. In fact, Government is fairly poor at solving problems. It is good at policy and creating an enabling environment. However, this problem was handed over to the counties. They were given staff, but due to challenges, especially corruption, we are not seeing results. I have said in this House that the only thing we have 100 per cent successfully devolved is corruption. Because of these problems, we must start introspecting creating a framework for professional services. Today, in rural areas, even when there is no medicine in the local clinic, one can still go to a private doctor. So, how do we ensure that farmers who can afford it have access to commercialised extension services? If you look at big horticultural companies, especially those operating in parts of the Rift Valley and Mount Kenya, they run their own extension services. They have officers who advise farmers on how to improve productivity. How can we ensure we come up with a model where we can certify, register and regulate commercial extension officers? They can even be community-based, just like the Community Health Promoters (CHPs). They can be small, professional and community-based officers who can help do crop, milk or product share with the farmers. For instance, if they help a farmer improve productivity 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.

from 10 litres per cow to 20, they are allowed to take two litres a day. This way, farmers pay for improved productivity. This Bill is timely. We must ensure that we do not leave everything to Government. We need to regulate this sector well. Otherwise, we will continue to complain about reduction in productivity. Finally, I have always longed for the day we can use part of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) to support agriculture. Due to devolution, clear boundaries were built. I see many opportunities to educate farmers and to support water, irrigation, agriculture and health interventions. However, because of the NG-CDF limitations, I am unable to do this. In future, we can allow 1 or 2 per cent of NG-CDF to go into farmer education. Governors have failed to do this, but Members of Parliament have shown good utilisation of NG-CDF in education, security and environment matters. How can we extend our scope a little bit to meet these needs? This may be theoretical. I rise to support the Bill. It is very important that we get our farmers back to productivity in this country. Thank you.

Well said. Let us hear from the Member for Kirinyaga.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this Bill. While agriculture is at a transformational crossroads, it is unfortunate that we seem to be progressing in some ways and retrogressing in others. The role of agricultural extension officers is crucial. Often times, we ask ourselves how to engage young people and close the generational gap in terms of engagement in regard to farming. Agriculture contributes around 20 per cent of our GDP, forming a critical sector in the Kenyan economy and employing over 40 per cent of the general populace. It is, therefore, important that we are intentional about addressing the key concerns of climate change and food insecurity in Kenya. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a click on a phone can capture a photo of an ailing plant, and that application can analyze what the crop needs. As we talk about agricultural extension officers, let us embrace technology and AI to provide critical support to farmers, thus enabling them to maximise output. We have applications like Tumaini, a Kenyan application, developed by our young people who have acquired proper knowledge. Unfortunately, since agriculture was devolved, the provision of agricultural extension services has been lacking, and these brains often go to waste. This will also be an opportunity to create employment. Universities continue to offer these courses, but there is no market absorption due to lack of implementation. Activating agricultural extension officers and taking advantage of social media and AI will be transformative and will ensure that the country achieves food security. Hon. Temporary Speaker, many Members have said that we benefit from agriculture because our parents were primarily farmers, and the proceeds from farming enabled us to go to school. What will we say of the next generation, which is highly learned but cannot be absorbed by the market? We all know the state of the economy in terms of creation of employment opportunities. Agricultural extension officers will help subsidise production costs and analyse climate change issues, and advise farmers on crop adaptation. Some areas that used to support certain crops when we were growing up can no longer sustain them due to climate change or changes in the composition of certain vital soil ingredients as a result of pollution. We have often complained about the use of harmful pesticides in farm inputs. You find in a certain area, a locality in the village, the prevalence of certain types of cancers are very high. Scientific data has been availed to indicate that this is as a result of the use of harmful pesticides. When we take advantage of collating scientific data and developing applications, farmers in the village, including my mother who is now in her 60s and has a smartphone, can get critical information that is timely and analysed. With AI, once you feed 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.

information to an application, the analysis is done and you receive advice that is scientifically viable. It is, therefore, important that we expedite and improve this Bill to ensure that it embodies the component of AI, so that we can also involve the youth in farming. We can take advantage of the knowledge they have given the advantage that they have grown up in the era of social media, where Facebook groups are even created purposely for farming so that farmers can share reviews, concerns and exchange information. This has made it easier for us. We must also tap into that for the benefit of our farmers. As I wind up, these agricultural extension officers will also advise farmers on market expectations so that we have a buyer-supplier balance. I support this Bill and urge Members to also contribute to enhance it. At the appropriate stage, I will give my contributions in regard to the same. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Thank you and well said. Join me in welcoming students from….

Hon. Adan, there are four Members before you. I will give opportunities to them and then I will give you. Relax.

We have students, in the Speaker’s Gallery from Olkejuado High School, Kajiado Central Constituency, Kajiado County. Please join me in welcoming them. We also have students, seated in the Public Gallery, from Bavuni Secondary School, Nakuru North Sub- County, Nakuru County. They have all come to follow our proceedings this morning.

The next Member to contribute to this Bill is Hon. Makali Mulu, Member for Kitui Central.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I appreciate the time you have given me to join my colleagues in supporting this important Bill, the Agriculture and Livestock Extension Services Bill. When I was young and joined secondary school, any teacher who came to our class would say agriculture is the backbone of our economy. Those were the days when crops like coffee, tea, and pyrethrum were contributing seriously to the economic growth and foreign exchange earnings. Over time, this important sector continues to decline in terms of its contribution to the GDP of this country. If you do an analysis of our economic growth and growth of some of these sectors, you will find that anytime agriculture does well, the economic growth of the country goes up. This means agriculture is like the main driver of our economic growth. This being the case, it means that it is important we do all it takes to support this sector. When I was young my mother was a very good farmer, despite being illiterate. Up to now, she still does serious farming at her age. She is about 87. Agricultural extension officers used to come to our farm. Those days they used to carry some wood to measure terraces. Anytime you saw them, you could see value addition to the farmer’s work. Those were the old days. To get an extension officer these days, you have to look for them. Why are we looking for extension officers? Over time, the Government stopped recruiting them. To make things worse, governors have also not recruited them. The few who are there are demotivated, since they are neither supported with 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.

allowances to go to the field nor given cars, bicycles or motorcycles. They rode bicycles in the old days. This Bill shows the way Kenya should be going; in terms of the right direction. We all know that agriculture is devolved, and we support devolution. It is important to realise that agriculture can never do well, if we do not have extension officers. This is the link between technology and the farmer. These are the people who know which pesticides you need to treat the farmer's crops and the latest technology in town that farmers can use to improve productivity, which has just been mentioned. When they are not there, we leave farmers on their own. This is important. I do not know whether we have the capacity to dictate that whatever budget goes to the governor's office or the counties, that a specific percentage be set aside for extension officers. In that case, we will ensure we have extension officers in this country, more so in agricultural-rich areas where agriculture does very well. The same case should also apply in areas where livestock do well like North Eastern and Ukambani region where we can do very well in keeping cows, goats and all those other related livestock. This Senate Bill which has been introduced in this House by Hon. Mutunga is the right one. Given the timing, we are late. It should have come many years ago, maybe when we started devolution, so that we get these important officers in the field. If we do this, we will help this country. Coming to the extension officers, there are a few things we need to get right. In terms of training, during our days we used to hear of Bukura Agricultural Institute, Ukambani Agricultural Institute, and Embu Agricultural Institute which were middle-level institutes for training diploma level. We also used to have Kabete campus which trained at degree level. Over time, we have killed almost all the diploma level colleges and are only remaining with the ones which offer degrees. There is no way graduates can visit all these farmers because they feel a bit senior. We need to come up with a procedure where we have middle-level institutions like Ukambani Agricultural Institute and Bukura Agricultural Institute so that they can provide the middle-level personnel who can visit farmers. By doing this, we will get it right, in terms of training. The other area which we also need to get right is transport facilitation. In terms of transport, it is now easier to procure motorcycles because they have become very cheap to procure, Hon. Temporary Speaker. If we provided them with motorcycles the way we have done with the chiefs, they will be able to penetrate remote areas of this country and support our farmers so that we grow this economy.

The other thing we must do is to provide allowances. We can call them lunch allowances or travel allowances, but there must be provision of allowances. County governments’ budgets must make provision for that so that when they go to the field, the extension officers are able to do their work without complaining that they do not have lunch and fuel allowances among other things.

I support this Bill and urge my colleagues to support it too. My wish is to have it fast- tracked. We have seen Bills being fast-tracked in this House so that they become Acts of Parliament. If we can fast-track this one so that it becomes an Act of Parliament, we will help this country and this economy, more so in terms of growth because agriculture still remains the mainstay of our economy and it remains the biggest contributor to our economic growth.

With those many remarks, Hon. Temporary Speaker, I support. Thank you very much.

Member for Seme.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this Bill because it addresses the biggest gap in our agricultural industry. Extension workers are actually the feet with which the industry moves. Whatever policies and whatever strategies we put in place to improve agriculture, the only level and cadre that can take them to the ground where work occurs are the extension workers. Somebody has 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.

said extension workers are the link between science and agriculture. Whether we have new technology or new farm inputs, they will not reach farmers unless we have the extension workers. That is the only way we will improve productivity, agronomy and the value chain. Whatever we do, those are the people that we need. I, therefore, support this Bill because it does what is most important when we want to make change to create a structure. The objects of the Bill indicate that it creates a national agricultural extension services strategy. There will be somebody who will have the responsibility of doing that. It then creates the Board. Again, this is important. The composition of the Board, to a large extent, is appropriate, with three members appointed by the Council of Governors. Whereas I support that, the two of them that are experts should have a direct link and we should put it in the Bill. For example, we should have County Executive Committee (CEC) members appointed from counties through the Council of Governors. If we just have an expert who is appointed by the Council of Governors as a pure expert, they will lose track as to why they are in the Board. I have seen that the Board advises the Cabinet Secretary. Its focus is on the Cabinet Secretary. We should remember that the Cabinet Secretary is at the national level. That is an area we should really look at. The Board should not see itself, to a large extent, as a hand of the Cabinet Secretary, but as an entity that serves county governments as well as the national Government.

This Bill brings out the role of county governments. One of the important roles that I notice is the recruitment of extension service officers. These are the people. It is right that they are recruited by county governments. But as it is presented in the Bill, if we are not careful, we may have some conflict between the national Government and county governments. This is because this looks clearly as a national Government entity. The relationship we have had between the national Government and county governments, unfortunately, has been adversarial. That may not work very well. That is an area we should look at. These are county employees, but their employment is initiated or advised from the Board, which looks like a national function.

In terms of finance, the Board is solely financed from Parliament. That means it is a national function. Boards and all institutions tend to be loyal to where their finances come from. Therefore, we have to look at other ways of financing that make the Board feel that its main function will only be felt if the extension workers are available and functioning at the county level.

I support this Bill, but we have to look at the relationship between the Board, the national Government, and county governments so that there is free flow of information and functions. Let us take the example of the Universal Health Care workers that we have. They were recruited by the Public Service Commission and are all under the Ministry of Health, but work in counties. If we were to have a problem, we will not be sure who should do what. I support the Bill and its structures. The proposer and the co-sponsor are here and we should look at the relationship I have pointed out very well. We will propose some amendments, if necessary, when we come to the Committee of the whole House.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Well said. Member for Eldas.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. This Bill is timely. It is timely because it brings about serious definitional clarity on the meaning of agriculture and livestock. I can see my good friend and my elder brother here, Hon. Aden Haji, who is a professional product of livestock extensions services not only in the northern Kenya region, but also in the entire country. He is the pioneer.

Over the years, as a country, we have had very many missed opportunities. At the face of it, if we just sit down and reflect, we have a country. Our number one agenda is food security and it has a definition. The World Food Programme, in the Summit of 1996, defined food 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.

security as the means all people, at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for active and healthy life. Is that what we have been doing? Is that what we do? It is not. I must congratulate the author of the Bill, its supporters and colleagues in the Senate who have attempted to look at it. We ought to have had it a long time ago. Some of the components the Bill attempt to help farmers in accessing knowledge, in getting information, and in getting serious technological transfers because farming has been modernised. It is not like the old days where farming methods did not add a lot of value to the wellbeing of the ordinary farmer. This Bill also attempts to enhance and modernise some of our agricultural practices. It attempts to bring about issues that can enhance economic productivity. It also provides an avenue for training. It also attempts to support market linkages that will bring about sustainability. When we were in school, we used to get access to the 4-K Clubs. We were encouraged to join agricultural marketing organisations. Today, if you ask the ordinary farmer about farming, you will realise that the kind of things they do and what they are expected to do are completely different. In this country, the definition of agriculture was based on coffee, tea, pyrethrum and other crops found in central Kenya. If you look at the face of this country, agriculture encompasses livestock, fishing and other marine activities. We need to get out of that cage which is part of the colonial mentality. Immediately we got our Independence, Sessional Paper No.10 of 1965 defined agriculture as what was practised in the high-potential areas of the larger Mount Kenya region. What was grown in the region? It was coffee, tea and pyrethrum. Period. Mandarins in the Treasury and those in the Ministry of Economic Planning stopped thinking about the face of this country. In their mind, fish was a commodity for the Luo subsistence farmer. Livestock was predominantly associated with the pastoralist communities in parts of northern Kenya and Rift Valley. That definition must change. I am very happy with this Bill because it brings out definitional clarity. I thank Hon. (Dr) Mutunga and his team for drafting it. We also need to diversify our economy. If you ever get an opportunity to go to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan or Egypt, please visit some of their farms. These countries are desserts. Saudi Arabia is the largest wheat-producing country in the world, competing with Australia and the United States of America. If you go to Israel, you will be amazed by the kind of dairy farming there. If you go to Jordan on the other side, the country deliberately invested in technological transfer and empowerment of the ordinary farmer. That is not what we do today. During the colonial time, and I am glad my sister from Narok and Hon. Adan Haji are here, we used to have the Livestock Marketing Division (LMD), Livestock Holding Grounds (LHG)), Livestock Migratory Roots (LMR) and a vibrant and functional Kenya Meat Commission (KMC).

In 1968—this is a sad part of our history, but we must say it for the current and the next generation—the newly independent Botswana sent a high-powered agricultural extension officers to come and benchmark with KMC. Today, the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) provides meat to the entire European Union (EU) market while KMC is still struggling with nothing practical to mention. Eventually, one of the products of KMC, a Kenyan, ended up being the Principal Secretary for Livestock in Botswana. He is one of the most respected livestock farmers in Botswana.

Is it not high time we called a spade a spade? I am a camel farmer. Is there anybody with an idea of the available market for a camel farmer in Kenya? There is none. If you go to Ethiopia, there is an established department and market for camel farmers. In Somalia, which has had serious security issues, the market is vibrant. It is the same in Djibouti. Is it not high time we sat down and reflected on our viable attempts to make this country food secure? Is it not time we stopped associating this giant Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development 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.

with coffee only? I am not in any way trying to demean coffee and tea farmers; they are doing a superb job but we need to diversify our economy. We need to rinse the brains of technocrats in that Ministry. I am glad my good friend, Hon. Kagwe, a genius product from that region, is making attempts to reach out to other parts of the Republic of Kenya.

This Bill is good and timely. I pray that ego-driven attempts for individual aggrandizement will not derail the Bill. There are people who personalise the big things that we do without thinking about what benefits ordinary people. What we have is not a federal State but economic devolution. You know that Kenya is not a federal State. Counties are supposed to provide linkages. Issues are supposed to trickle down from the national Government to the villages but, everybody wants to create a cocoon outfit that is completely detached from the national reality. It is high time we went back and audited the Constitution because it is not working. It is making this country bankrupt. It has created too many echelons which pursue avenues that only add value to personal benefits. This Bill is good. I agree with what Hon. (Dr) Nyikal has said. Let us not create many overlapping and conflicting…

Thank you. Well said. Hon. Members, today we have a number of schools visiting us. Seated in the Public Gallery are students from Masinga Girls, Masinga Constituency in Machakos County. Seated in the Speaker’s Gallery are students from Moi Girls Isinya, Kajiado East Constituency in Kajiado County. They are all welcome to follow our proceedings this morning.

Members, before I give Hon. Emaase a chance to contribute, I would like to give Hon. Mwalyo one minute.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I would like to welcome the students that have come to the premises of Parliament to learn from the proceedings of the House and watch Members contributing to debate. I welcome all of them, the ones from Moi Girls High School, Isinya and the ones from Masinga Girls whom I represent. I welcome them to feel free, watch debate and learn something so that when they go home they can say they were in Parliament today. You are part of the debate. Watch and go home with something. You are most welcome.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Member for Teso South.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to this important Bill. The importance of agricultural extension officers cannot be over-emphasised. This Bill is very timely. It is coming at a time when farmers in this country are operating in an environment devoid of the basic knowledge, training and support that was being given by extension officers. Last year, I was working with a Community-Based Organisation (CBO) that I created in my constituency. We were trying to do some work in agribusiness. It was difficult to get extension officers. I had to seek the services of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO). Sometimes you even need to test the soil so that the farmer is advised on what crop to plant where for them to get the highest yield. Extension officers, as I remember, would even go to the field and offer demonstration services. Today, agriculture is one of the most evolving sectors. It is mechanised. There are new methods and technologies being used all over the world. We need these extension officers. If you look at our counties today, some do not even have extension officers. Those who are there are ageing and almost retiring. They have been phased out through natural attrition and have not been replaced. As we speak about this Bill, we must deliberately, as a House, make sure that enough resources have been allocated. Or we impress upon the counties to make sure they have allocated enough resources to facilitate extension officers and recruit more. Those who have a 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.

few extension officers have no money for facilitation and no means of transport to access the remotest areas. Most of our farmers are in the remotest areas where even the road network is very poor. This Bill is coming at a time when we need it the most. Extension officers are the ones who organise the workshops, with the administration at our chiefs' areas, to give capacity to farmers. Today, the Government is putting in a lot of money to construct industrial parks. We have one in Busia, almost complete. We needed to have these extension officers on the ground within these areas to educate the farmers, to do advocacy, to encourage them on what plants, like in Busia, to plant palm oil, simsim and groundnuts. We are going to complete the industrial parks, and we shall not have the by- products for value addition to create employment opportunities. We have too many young people who have graduated from the Sigalagala National Polytechnic and all the vocational and national polytechnics from across the country. They are jobless, and yet there is a lot of potential. We must be deliberate on this, and we must support this Bill. We must follow this function with resources. Otherwise, approving this Bill and not giving money to operationalise it will be a cause in vain. Thank you. I support.

Member for Saku.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for this opportunity.

One minute. Members, you know what I do when I am presiding. I will not skip anybody. I will follow the list in the way you came. Just relax, bide your time and speak based on what time you came. Go ahead.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I agree with you. People must bide their time. Thank you for this opportunity. I rise to support this very important Bill. I want to share an experience with the House. A few weeks ago, I visited the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Machakos, and I met a gentleman called Bishop Masika of Christ is the Answer Ministries (CITAM) Church. Interestingly, he has this scientific approach to food production where he concentrates on one acre as the basic unit area for maximum food production. In our discussion, what he told me has been imprinted in my mind. He said there are no dry lands. There are only dry minds. That is real and poignant. Agriculture contributes 22 to 24 per cent to our GDP. Of this, between 8 and 9 per cent is contributed by livestock. This is how important agriculture is to this country, and how important livestock is in food production. I want to share what Hon. Keynan just said before me. Many years ago, at the beginning of the Republic of Kenya, there were many things we were getting right, particularly in the area of livestock production. For those of us who come from the livestock-producing areas, the Livestock Marketing Board (LMD), the extension officers and the Range Management Officers contributed significantly to production in the livestock sector. Although agriculture remains the backbone of our economy, many think that the soft industries are the ones that are driving our economy. But that is far from the truth. Agriculture remains the anchor of all these other sectors of our economy. Walk around Nairobi, Mombasa or the other major cities, and there is the feeling that the service industry is what runs our economy. I do not believe that is true. Those service industries exist as a result of our efforts in agriculture. That is why this Bill is significant. It must be a milestone in our legislation as legislators of the 13th Parliament. We must put our names on paper. 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.

Agriculture officers are the front-line scientists. Wherever you find extension officers are active, it does not matter whether they are in livestock or agriculture, you will see significant improvement in food production, involvement of farmers, motivation, and identification of diseases much faster. Extension officers are quickly able to tell that a fall in food production within a particular area is because of using this or that fertiliser or because of these or those insects that are destroying that crop. We are also aware that in the olden days, agricultural officers came up with pilot schemes, animal vaccination centres to help in fighting diseases, but at the same time, to help in food production. In this Bill, what I want to request from the sponsor is to quickly identify the baseline between the roles of the national and county governments. We cannot say the county is also part of it, and the national Government is part of it, and then we pass a law that nobody is responsible for in terms of policy or implementation. In that case, we are constituting boards, and we are giving people Chief Executive Officer jobs in vain. We cannot be wasting public resources when we are seeing it right in front of our eyes. With the problem of global warming and climate change, are we keeping up with the tide? A greater part of this country’s economy depends on agriculture. Looking around us, as Professor Maathai Wangari once said, when things around you are dying, just know you will be next. That is the effect of climate change and global warming. We are among the countries in the Global South that are likely to be immensely affected by long droughts, floods and short heavy rains where farmers will not even have time to plant. For that reason, we must come up with clever strategies for posterity so that this country does not suffer. All generations that will come after us must enjoy their lives and feel proud to live in this great country.

Finally, on the issue of boards, a few months ago as the Pastoralist Parliamentary Group, we requested the formation of the Livestock Marketing Board. To date, although it has been gazetted, it is not functional. As I said, livestock contributes to approximately 8 to 10 per cent of our economy. That cannot be just wasted away because of lack of decision, operationalisation, and right and timely decision-making. For that reason, I support this Bill. We must identify roles so that the counties and the national Government do not compete for the same space or use resources for the same job, which I call duplication.

With those remarks, Hon. Temporary Speaker, I thank you for the time.

Well said. Next is the Member for Narok North, Hon. Pareyio.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for this opportunity to support this Bill. This is a very important Bill because it involves farmers. Agriculture and livestock are the backbone of the economy of our country today because most of our people depend on it to earn money to take care of their families. Therefore, there is need for us to support the extension officers who form the link between the farmers and the new technology available to improve farming and farmers’ yields in order to make money. Agriculture is a devolved function. I am sorry to say that county governments do not have resources and are unable to properly run these services. I thank God that education was not devolved because the sectors that were devolved already have a problem. We have a problem in agriculture and health, which are the sectors that directly involve our people. But for this, I think there is need for the extension officers to be supported. With the new agricultural technology, we need people who understand and can help our people at the grassroots in order to improve their agricultural practices. I think it is important for the extension officers to be licensed and supported so that they can go around like in the past, where people depended on them for soil testing. This prevented us from growing what would not do well on our farms.

For that reason, I support this Bill.

Thank you. 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.

Thank you. Next is the Member for Busia County.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I support this Bill because the time we used to do things haphazardly and just gazing without upping our game in increasing productivity has passed because population keeps increasing. I think pesticides, the enemy of crop and livestock, and other knowledge that farmers have been applying has necessitated constant change. We know extension officers who usually can be found in a very big location. We do not have enough of these officers to support the farmers or be there on time to adequately give the appropriate advice if anything befalls the farmers. The extension officers are not trained often and they lack funding to enable them reach every farmer. Most times, they lack means to access some interior places where we have indigenous rooted agriculturalists, real farmers who do not even think of white collar jobs but depend 100 per cent on agriculture. Technology has changed significantly where if you do not train these officers, even if they were to reach the farmers, they would have a normal tête- à-tête instead of giving them know-how and skills they need. To effectively support farmers, we need to take this section seriously as a nation and give it adequate funding.

When I was young, I was told agriculture is the backbone of our nation. How can it be a backbone yet it is weak? It means we cannot feed all our people and supply because if it is the backbone, it should also earn foreign exchange.

This Bill was long overdue. I support it fully.

Thank you.

Member for Mandera West.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I stand to support this Bill. Extension officers are key to our farming systems. I got the opportunity to work as an extension officer for a very long time. In the olden days, food production was adequate because the extension officers were in place and farmers were being properly guided. We had something called training and visit. The extension officers, after 14 days, are brought together and trained on all the new technologies. They are equipped with new equipment that is required and in the next 14 days, they go farm to farm to train farmers. It is like a farmer school, where the extension officers are the teachers. In cases like now, the extension officers are either absent or they are just too few and they are demoralised because they are not doing much. Hon. Temporary Speaker, farmers are like students in a classroom with no teacher. What can we expect in terms of their performance? Just as students who attend class throughout the year are evaluated at the end, farmers who have not received proper guidance will not achieve the desired results. Many farmers continue to operate as they have for generations without adapting to modern practices. In this day and age, various new technologies are available, and it is crucial that farmers are updated by extension officers. Unfortunately, since the devolution of functions, extension services have not been prioritised as they should be. To ensure food security and an adequate food supply for ourselves, we must adopt current farming techniques. Otherwise, with a growing population and more mouths to feed, if extension services remain lacking and farmers continue using outdated methods, we cannot expect sufficient food production in the country. A nation where citizens are hungry is akin to slavery. When people are desperate for food, they may resort to extreme measures, including undermining their own country or migrating, which results in a loss of labour. Therefore, extension services must be given the priority they require. Currently, many individuals lack qualifications because there are no checks and balances in place. They fill the vacuum left by the shortage of trained extension officers, pretending to be qualified. This misleads farmers into believing these individuals are 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.

knowledgeable and capable of providing proper extension services. As a result, farmers may follow misguided advice, leading to poor food production outcomes. This is why the proposed Bill is very important. It ensures that anyone claiming to be an extension officer must be certified and qualified. We cannot allow unqualified individuals to mislead our farmers and interfere with our agricultural productivity. We have many educated young people in agriculture, livestock, fisheries, and other related sectors. However, because county governments are not prioritising extension services and agriculture has been devolved, the situation continues to deteriorate each year. I strongly advocate for the swift passage and enforcement of this Bill. Individuals calling themselves extension workers must be qualified, passionate, and knowledgeable in order to effectively assist farmers. Recently, some crooks imported fake fertilisers into the country. While the packaging claimed it was fertiliser, the content was not genuine. If we had effective extension officers in the field, at points of entry, and in transit, such incidents could have been prevented. The absence of qualified extension officers and the failure to prioritise these roles have led to these issues. With these few remarks, I support. We want this Bill to be passed as quickly as possible and implemented to the letter.

Thank you. Next is the Member for Nambale, Hon. Mulanya.

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.

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.

Well said. Member for Kisumu East.

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.

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.

Member for Keiyo North.

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.

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.

Well said. Member for Nyamira.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to also speak on the Agriculture and Livestock Extension Services Bill. This is a very progressive Bill. As Kenyans, we understand that agriculture is the backbone of our economy. When stable and healthy, the backbone enables the rest of the body to move to wherever it wants to go. If well taken care of, agriculture will make our country's economy prosper and enable Kenyans to live the best life they aspire to. The population will be well-fed. We seriously need extension officers for us to get the best agricultural output. The officers will train farmers on the types of crops to be planted on each type of soils, and on what livestock is suitable for rearing in different climates. We are now facing climate change. The climatic conditions that prevail today are different from the ones we had in the early 1980s and 1990s. Due to these changes, we need to change our tactics by having well-trained extension officers who can understand the climate and advise on what is needed where. Hon. Temporary Speaker, this Bill talks about both the national Government and county governments. We do not want to have any gaps this time round. Although agriculture is a devolved function, we will not succeed if we assign part of the responsibility to county governments and another part to the national Government. I urge the Member who has brought this Bill to ensure that there is no gap. 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.

There must also be adequate resources allocated to counties as we provide agricultural extension officers so that this sector is properly catered for. Farmers should be able to access fertilisers and guidance on the most appropriate livestock to rear depending with regions. Once resources are made available, extension officers should assist farmers in adopting new technologies in agricultural production. The county governments should be better resourced to ensure that sufficient support reaches farmers once the Bill goes through thereby having enough food for our country. A well-fed nation will prosper and help the economy to grow. I support, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Thank you. Before I give a chance to the next Member to contribute, join me in welcoming students from Weithaga Boys High School from Kiharu Constituency, Murang’a County and St. Joseph Matiku Secondary School from Kibwezi West Constituency, Makueni County. They are welcome to follow our proceedings this afternoon and to learn what goes on in Parliament. The next speaker will be the Member for Embakasi South.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Agriculture and Livestock Extension Services Bill (Senate Bill No.12 of 2022). The Bill is long overdue, having been received last year. Now that it is here, we must make sure that we pass it. I stand to support it. A few years ago, the country used to have extension officers who supported farmers to produce quality products. Kenya was one of the top countries in production of coffee. Coffee and tea used to be among the top earners of foreign exchange for the country. Nowadays, agriculture has dwindled, contributing to 22 per cent of our GDP. It is not well supported through provision of enough knowledge and skills to farmers. There is need to equip farmers with information, technology and enough equipment so that they produce the best. There is need to mechanise and improve technology to the point of even using such items as drones. Technology has improved so much. In other countries, people are using drones to spray pesticides. There is need to equip farmers with enough information. The extension officers will do the same. A majority of the types of cows we are rearing in the country are the small, short Zebu species, yet we have better breeds that farmers can acquire at almost the same price. I have in mind breeds like Sahiwal, Brahman and Boran. A fully grown bull of the Zebu breed will earn a farmer between Ksh35, 000 and Ksh40, 000. A fully grown Boran cow will earn you between Ksh160, 000 and Ksh170, 000 but due to lack of information, connectivity and failure to devolve the knowledge that is available, our farmers still rear their small cows. There is no place in the country where we cannot grow anything we want. There is no place in the country where we cannot keep livestock. There are desert countries like Dubai and Qatar, which are excellently producing in greenhouses. All the food from Qatar Airlines is grown in a farm in Qatar, which is a desert. You can rear camels in Garissa, Moyale and Mandera. They just need a little bit of support. Nowadays there are excellent types of feeds like juncao napier grass. It can grow up to six metres tall and regrows quickly after being cut. One acre of this grass can feed 20 cows. I fully support the idea of extension officers. Agrovets in rural areas do not have the knowledge. If your cow or livestock is unwell, they cannot give proper prescription for your cow. However, with extension officers in place, farmers will be able to receive advice. I highly recommend that we ensure there is an extension officer in every ward. With 1,450 wards, that would mean 1,450 extension officers. We are still importing eggs from our neighbouring countries. We also import beans, maize and onions from our other neighbour in the south. With enough knowledge, we have the 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.

capacity to grow our own because we have enough land. Some of us are farmers, and we can impart this knowledge to others through extension officers. A few decades ago, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock used to promote production of crops like cotton in specific regions. The cotton would then be harvested and sold to manufacturers like Kisumu Cotton Mills (KICOMI) and Raymond Woollen Mills (Kenya) Ltd, as it was then known. The extension officers will, therefore, be able to advise farmers on what to plant, bearing in mind the type and duration it will take to harvest. For instance, Peru, the second-largest producer and exporter of avocado, is our largest competitor. An extension officer can advise a farmer on the type of avocado to plant and the best time to plant it so as to harvest when the Peru avocados are not yet in the market, thereby getting a premium market price. This Bill is long overdue and I fully support it.

Member for Turkana East.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this chance to add my voice to this important Bill. If we flash back to the Nyayo era, the work of extension officers was one of the services that the Government prioritised. This is because of the support that these officers gave to our farmers from the national level all the way to the village level. During those days, we had these officers in every village. Unfortunately, I do not know what happened to this country because these important services have slowly been phased out. At the moment, you cannot find these officers anywhere in our sub-locations, locations or divisions. Where I come from, we used to lose a lot of livestock because of drought. During those days, extension officers would give farmers early warning alerts, which would enable them to strategize on how to save their livestock. Nowadays, farmers are caught off guard and end up losing a lot of livestock because they are not prepared for what is coming. Our farmers need education. They need to know new farming techniques. Because of lack of these agricultural extension services, they cannot get these new technologies. We allocate money in this House to hire teachers for our schools, so that our children can get education. It is the same thing we need to do to our farmers. They need to be educated. They also need to get new technologies so that they can plant the right crops at the right time. By doing so, we can get enough food and avoid giving our people relief food like what we do in some parts of this country like North Eastern, Turkana and Samburu. If agricultural extension services can be taken closer to the people, they can do a lot of work and produce food in all the sectors of agriculture, livestock and fishing. Because they lack these services, they cannot produce food. As the world changes, climate change is coming in. These people do not know how to go around climate change because they lack these kinds of services. In our colleges, there are too many students who normally finish these courses in agriculture, but they loiter in the villages with all that knowledge. We need to support this Bill, so that we can hire these officers to provide services to our farmers. By doing so, we can continue talking about agriculture being the backbone of this country. This died when agriculture was devolved to the counties. Do you think it has just died? We need to strengthen the Bill and come up with the right ways of how these services will be handled by the county governments and the national Government. This will enable us to ensure that we do not have any gap that may bring confusion between the two levels of government. The agricultural extension services officers used to render services in our divisions. We have wards nowadays. For example, we have 30 wards in my county. If each ward can have an agricultural extension officer, our farmers can get more knowledge and improve their farming. With those few remarks, I support the Bill.

Member for Tinderet. 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.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I support this Bill. I thank the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock in the sense that this Bill will transform this country. Agricultural extension officers are the backbone of most agricultural economies worldwide. The good work they do leads to increased food production, foreign exchange earnings for nations and, more importantly, an increase in the income of those involved in agricultural activities. An agricultural extension officer has a lot of activities in livestock keeping, dairy farming and crop production. He is very important in the following ways. One, he educates the farmers on modern farming techniques, modern scientific ways of controlling pests and more importantly, engaging in proper seeds propagation. With all these activities, the farmer gets more income and by extension, the country gets the much-needed food. Farmers will get income to run their daily activities, pay school fees and do other things. Thirdly, the country will save on foreign exchange as it will not import food. We know that Kenya was the breadbasket of the region in the 1960s and 1970s. Back then, agricultural extension officers were found in almost every location. I grew up seeing extension officers in very good khaki uniforms across the villages. They would tell farmers how best to plant their seeds and organised them into cooperatives where they were able to save. Farmers were able to market their crops very well. We have forgotten what we saw when we were growing up, but we need to make agricultural extension officers part and parcel of life. I have seen the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development trying to reinvent the wheel. You cannot reinvent the wheel in this sector without extension officers. Extension officers are the nerve centre that will transform this country. We can be sugar, coffee and tea exporters and do marvellous things. Kenya has grown over the years in terms of agricultural production. Look at the case of meat. In the 1960s and 1970s, many countries bench-marked with our country, and we were at the top. However, we are doing very poorly today because extension officers have been neglected. They are no longer the core of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. I ask this House to ensure that all the county governments and the national Government make it mandatory for all agricultural areas in this country to have extension officers because agriculture is the backbone of our country. Lastly, extension officers in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) act as early warning systems. In case they foresee challenges in rainfall quantities, they can warn farmers early to sell their livestock. They will tell them when to stock grass and how to cope with water shortages. Hon. Mutunga, let us actualise the agriculture and livestock extension services as soon as possible. I support the Bill.

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

What is out of order, Hon. Baya?

Hon. Temporary Speaker, looking at the mood of the House, I request that the Mover be called upon to reply.

How did you determine the mood of the House? Is it the mood of the House that we call the Mover to reply?

Everybody is supporting the Bill along the same lines. Therefore, it is okay for the Mover to be called to reply so that we can close debate on this Bill.

Hon. Mutunga.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to reply to the debate on this very important 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.

I would like to thank all my colleagues for supporting the Bill. It shows the importance of extension services in our country as an enabler towards agricultural production and productivity. A few issues have come up that I would like to highlight. We looked at the composition of the board as a Committee. We, first, looked at the structure of the board itself. We are not creating a new institution because we are very much aware that the Government is merging institutions to reduce the number of Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs). We have looked at the existing Agricultural Information and Resource Centre (AIRC) and transformed it into the National Agricultural Information Repository, which will link up all the sources of information, technologies, innovations and management practices to be channelled back to the county governments and released to farmers. We have also looked at the area of diagnosis and taken into account the technological advancement that the country is at now in terms of how farmers can take photographs of what they see in their farms. They can relay the photographs to a county outfit that we have renamed ‘diagnostic centre.’ From the diagnostic centre, it will be possible for the photographs to go to a repository and the repository can get information that can be relayed back to the farmer. Through such process, we can solve a problem.

On the other hand, we have also looked at the relationships and how we can keep the distance short and the channels very clear in terms of making sure that the regulatory information is relayed to the farmer in appropriate form. We have also looked at livestock issues in terms of how we can cause an improvement of livestock through working extension system by taking into account the Kenya Animal Genetic Resources Centre (KAGRC), which is mandated to produce semen and distribute it across the country. That can impact our livestock sector in terms of reducing the maturity age of beef-producing cattle and also improving the productivity of the dairy animals so that we increase the national average.

There are very many other issues that we looked that have come out during the debate. As a country, there are a few challenges we need to focus on even as we look at this Bill. We need an appropriate messaging process to handle the challenge of climate change. We also need to be aware of the fact that land is reducing in size. We can open up any land that does not have good soils as we have. Therefore, we have a great opportunity. We need to employ our young people. Agriculture has the potential. Unless we have a working extension system, that will not happen because we will not message appropriately. With those very few remarks, I reply.

Hon. Members, that marks the end of the Second Reading debate on the Agriculture and Livestock Extension Services Bill (Senate Bill No.12 of 2022). For obvious reasons, the Question will be put the next time the Bill will be slotted in the Order Paper.

Hon. Members, the time being 1.00 p.m., the House stands adjourned until 2.30 p.m.

The House rose at 1.00 p.m.

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.

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.