Taita Taveta county has set aside Sh50 million to support rice farmers and to add value to the crop.
Taita Taveta Agriculture executive Eric Kyongo said the county has huge idle land that has potential for rice farming.
He said currently, 9,000 acres are under rice production but farmers are not benefitting from this.
“Our farmers are exploited because brokers buy the paddy rice and take it to Tanzania for processing and value addition. It is then brought back in Kenya and sold at a higher price,” Kyongo told the Star during an interview in Taveta.
A kilo of paddy rice at the farm gate is bought at Sh40 and once it is processed in the neighbouring country, it is sold back to the farmers in the market at Sh150 per kilo.
He said they have partnered with the National Irrigation Authority and are coming up with a draining system.
The plan is to do drainage and clear around 30,000 acres for rice farming and also to set up a rice processing mill in Taveta.
The county agriculture minister said the rice milling factory in Taveta will help link farmers with a reliable market, It will also secure jobs for the youths and that the byproducts can also be utilised for the livestock feed.
“We want to support farmers to increase rice production hence the deliberate move for the budgetary allocation of Sh50 million. We also want to avoid ‘exporting’ jobs to the neighbouring country by ensuring that we do value addition,” Kyongo said.
According to data from the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation, rice is primarily grown in the Mwea Irrigation Scheme in Kirinyaga county.
It is also cultivated in other parts of the country, including Ahero in Kisumu county and Bunyala in Busia county.
Mwea Irrigation Scheme is the largest rice farming area in Kenya covering an area of about 30,000 hectares. Ahero Irrigation Scheme covers an area of about 3,000 hectares and in Bunyala Irrigation Scheme 1,800 hectares is under rice farming.
Rice cultivation was introduced in Kenya in 1907 from Asia. Rice is the third most important cereal crop in Kenya, after maize and wheat, and is grown by small-scale farmers for income and food.
Karlo stated that the country has a potential of about 540,000 Ha irrigated land. In addition, potential exists of approximately 1.0 million Ha for rain-fed rice production, whereas only 5,000 Ha of land is currently exploited.
“The country has been a net importer of rice and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Rice consumption in Kenya in 2019 was estimated to be 800,000 MT, with average per capita consumption of 20.6Kg against a production of 180,000 MT,” Karlo said.
Kyongo also added that they are looking into the banana value chain, and the county is seeking partners to help in reviving the banana processing plant.