MPs Snuff Out Bill Seeking to Regulate Ndengu Farming

During its Tuesday session, the National Assembly rejected Mung Bean Bill (2022) during the second reading after a majority of MPs voted to subject it to fresh amendments. 

• The bill, which was subject to massive public uproar, was introduced in the Senate by Kitui County Senator Enoch Wambua in December 2022. 
• It sought to regulate large-scale growing, processing, and selling of ndengu within Kenya by requiring them to obtain licenses from county governments. 
• The bill now proceeds to the mediation stage where a committee will analyze contentious clauses, rectify them, and furnish better legislation. 

“The National Assembly by a majority has rejected the Mung Bill, 2022 at the second reading stage. The bill which seeks to regulate the production, processing, and marketing of mung beans in Kenya will now proceed to meditation,” Parliament said in a statement.

The mediation committee has thirty days to mollify the bill for re-introduction in the house. If no agreeable amendments are met by the end of this period, the bill will collapse entirely. 

Violating this licensing provision was set to incur a KSh 1 million fine. In Mid-August, Senator Wambua clarified that the bill was not as punitive as the media had reported. He said that it only applied to large-scale dealers. 

Wambua said that small and medium-sized farmers of the cereal were only required to register with their respective County Executive Committee (CEC) members. He argued that the same requirement was followed by cash crop farmers. 

The senator defended the bill saying that it was not meant to extort farmers but to record important details in the sector that would enable the government to facilitate the quality of ndengu produce. 

“The bill seeks to facilitate and develop a framework that will regulate and promote the Mung Bean industry in Kenya, ensuring it thrives both locally and internationally,” Enoch Wambua said. 

A section of Kenyans, however, described the bill as a precursor to introduce taxes in the sector. It was not the first bill purporting to regulate produce in the sector. Several other bills have been tabled in parliament to control the production of various food crops. 

The government continues to maintain that these bills are not intended to affect small scale farmers but no stratification has been made clear as to whom will be targeted. 

Source: The Kenyan Wallstreet