[NASA principal Raila Odinga. Photo/rao.co.ke]
The Nasa coalition was in Eldoret over the weekend, for its first rally following its official launch.
Principals Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, Moses Wetangula, and Musalia Mudavadi faulted the incumbent Jubilee government for allegedly putting burdens on Kenyans, through corruption and poor economy.
They highlighted what Nasa government will do for the people of Uasin Gishu County, the vast Rift Valley region and the entire country:
''1. Put more money in Agriculture, including provision of high quality and affordable fertilizers to allow farmers feed the nation without imports. 2. Kenya is a signatory to Maputo declaration which stipulates that at least 10% of the national budget goes to agriculture. We will meet this goal. 3. We will allocate enough money to NCPB to purchase cereals from farmers at profitable prices. Last Financial Year, Jubilee allocation to NCPB for the purchase of Strategic Grain Reserves (SGR) came down from Sh2.7bn in 2015 to Sh1.6bn. When NCPB is under-funded, it cannot stabilize the cereals prices. Millers and brokers then have a field day buying the produce at throwaway prices. Coming down as low as Sh1,500 per 90kg bags. 4. We will ensure that subsidized fertilizer reach the farmers directly and not through brokers as has been the case under Jubilee. The brokers have been adulterating the fertilizer before selling it at exorbitant prices. This monkey business has gone on with the blessing of senior government officials. We will stop it. 5. We will give the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) the money it requires to serve farmers. AFC requires at least Sh10bn for crop and development loans. In the 2016/17 budget, only Sh3bn which has been revolving was retained. 6. We will put money in Agricultural Development Corporation to allow it play effective role in seed production and promotion of quality livestock breeds. In 2016/17, ADC was allocated Sh0.5bn just for operations. 7. We will put money where it will yield the best results. For instance, the Galana-Kulalu Irrigation which kicked off before feasibility studies were done, was allocated Sh20.8bn only to yield 10 bags per acre. North Rift farmers if supported with such amount could produce more than 25 bags per acre on average. 8. We will deal firmly with corruption which is the biggest problem for agriculture in Kenya. Wheat farmers suffered a lot when the government waived duty on imported wheat flooding the market with cheap imports. We will adopt a policy of our farms and our farmers first. 9. We will ensure New KCC is returned to farmers to stabilize milk prices. 10. We will tackle the problem of land subdivision to ensure economical farming.''