It is a Friday noon when the Star visits unit 5 of the Tebere section in the Mwea irrigation scheme. The ground is baking hot, with the sun overhead spreading its rays across the lush, green temperate grassland that stretches across thousands upon thousands of acres that make up the scheme. It is two months to the harvesting season of the second ratoon crop season.
It is on this marshy farm that we meet Simon Gitahi. In his right hand, he is armed with dump mud balls that he throws at a swarm of little red-beaked birds that keep descending on the rapidly sprouting gold-coloured husks. In addition, he has to use archaic methods like clapping and shouting to keep the birds away.
The birds, known as red-billed quelea, pay a visit to the farms a few months prior to the harvesting season on a destruction mission, all thanks to their insatiable appetite for the grain.
However, the birds are a blessing in disguise for casual farmworkers like Gitahi, who earns Sh350 a day for keeping watch over his employer’s farm from bird invasion.
Gitahi’s day starts at 6am, when the earliest birds rise, and ends at 6pm, when they retreat back to their nests after a long day of filling their bellies with the pishori grains. He starts his day with a heavy meal for the much-needed energy and lemon water that helps in opening up his throat for the awaiting task that requires his voice.
“Besides taking a heavy breakfast, I’m required to carry packed lunch and a jerry can of water for boosting my energy.”
Kenyans oblivious of this struggle look forward to the harvest at the end of the day. A plate of cooked pishori rice is enough of a meal to express gestures of love, appreciation, welcome and high social strata. The grains’ appetising taste, coupled with its aromatic smell, depicts grace and prestige.
Kenya sources its pishori rice from Mwea in Kirinyaga county. A huge supply is farmed at the expansive Mwea irrigation scheme.
A spot check by the Star found that in Kirinyaga county, a kilo of pure processed pishori rice in ordinary food markets in the county retails at between Sh125 and Sh130, while in supermarkets and food stores, the price ranges from Sh140 to Sh240.
Further research in various supermarkets in Nairobi, Nyeri, Mombasa and Kisumu found that grade 1 pishori rice retails at between Sh180 and Sh270 per kilo.
PRODUCTION HARDSHIP
In an acre of the plantation, a farmer hires between one and four casuals to watch over his farm. The number of farmhands is dependent on the excessiveness of the birds.
Though the job might sound funny, it is not easy. Gichohi says water-borne diseases like cholera and bilharzia are common ailments that plague them while working on the farms. They also have to contend with golden apple snails that have spawned in large number and threaten their job.
“The snails’ shells have a sharp, razor-like edge that could cut through and infect our feet if not armed with proper footwear.”
Unfortunately, many of the casuals we find around are barefooted as they trudge past the paddies that are heavily infested with snails.
Gitahi’s employer Francis Gichohi says he started farming rice in 2016. He aspired to be a great rice farmer but like many other farmers, snails and birds menace are among the many setbacks.
“I spend so much money on this project with the hope it will pay back sometime in the future. In a month, I pay close to Sh100,000 to take care of my one-acre piece, which I leased at Sh60,000.”
Even after the spending, he harvests about 15 bags, unlike 25 bags when he started the venture. Each kilo of unprocessed rice sells at Sh50 and a sack at Sh5,000. The marketing chain is infiltrated with brokers who exploit them as they often buy at a throwaway price.
The government had attempted to salvage the situation by buying directly from the farmers at Sh85 per kilo. However, for farmers like Gichohi, they are greatly disadvantaged for being non-members of the Mwea Rice Growers Multipurpose Millers Cooperative, which acts as a trade bridge between the government and the farmers.
Davis Muchiri, another rice farmer in the scheme, has been farming rice for 37 years now. He says unlike yesteryears, when rice was white gold to Kirinyaga farmers, the losses they have been incurring over the years have prompted many to drop the farming in favour of other ventures.
Golden apple snails have been his greatest nightmare. He has used all sorts of farm inputs to eradicate the pest but to no avail.
High prices of fertiliser also force many farmers to frugally use the little farm input they buy, thus getting low yields.
After going through the struggle, Muchiri says they are forced to compete with illicit traders, who adulterate genuine pishori rice and sell it at exorbitant prices.
“Some blend a small quantity of pishori with a large quantity of non-aromatic rice, most of which is imported, and package it. Then they sell it to unsuspecting customers at a high price.”
WATER, PEST WOES
Innocent Ariemba, the National Irrigation Authority Mwea irrigation scheme manager, says water shortage has been one of the greatest challenges in the 26,000 acres covered by rice.
He is hopeful, however, that things will change with the near completion of the mega Thiba rice dam. It will not only bring an extra 10,000 acres under irrigation but also double the rice production.
Over the last two years, the scheme has produced an average of 144,000 metric tonnes of rice.
Ariemba says the golden apple snails have proved to be a difficult task for the board to wipe away.
“They were officially reported in the scheme in 2019. We did not have the technical know-how to manage them. There have been trials and errors by the researchers, and luckily, the menace seems to have an end in sight as there is a product that is under test and it is proving to be effective.”
If not properly controlled, an adult snail can wipe out one square metre overnight.
The quelea birds have also become frequent pests, causing many farmers to incur huge losses. Ariemba says their prevalence has risen since a second ratoon farming season was introduced.
“Just like any government entity, we plan for our activities in the scheme annually, and should there be an extra activity that has not been budgeted for, it becomes difficult to manage,” he said.
“An example is the second ratoon season, in which the farmers have lamented over the destruction of their crops by the birds.”
Under the main cropping season, the birds are easily manageable as Ariemba's office is able to timely liaise with the pest control agencies, who help in eradicating the birds by way of spraying them while in their nests.
The birds, which have been reported in the millions across the scheme, are very destructive. So severe is the situation that if not properly managed, 5 million birds can clear up to 2 acres of rice per day.
After the liberalisation of rice farming in the early 2000s, the NIA has had a daunting task in operating and maintaining the infrastructure established within the scheme. Ariemba says there are over 1,000km of roads snaking within the scheme.
Under the road maintenance programme, farmers, too, take part in the programme through the payment of Sh3,000 for an acre per season. However, that is still not enough to maintain the roads, which require constant rehabilitation due to the nature of the black cotton soil in the area.
“There is no single season where all farmers pay 100 per cent, so the board partners and wishes to continue partnering with the county government and the national government,” he said.
MARKETING THE PRODUCE
Farmers have had to bear with the stiff competition brought about by the imported rice, which retails at a relatively low price.
In 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta gave an executive order authorising the Kenya National Trading Corporation to be buying rice from farmers at Sh85 a kilo instead of Sh70.
Most rice farmers in the area have been delivering their produce to Mwea Rice Growers Multipurpose Co-operative, which then sells to the government and other private consumers.
The society chair, Ndege Muriuki, said farmers have been consistent in delivering their produce. The latest produce in their reserve was harvested in the second ratoon season.
Of the 9.2 million kilos delivered by farmers, Muriuki says only about 3 million kilos have been sold.
“After the executive order, market prices were good as we sold 9.4 million kilos that were delivered to us. Out of that, we were able to pay farmers about Sh700 million.”
“However, a bigger part of last year’s produce is still stuck in our reserves. We hope the market space will open up so we can dispose of what we have in our stores.”
Edited by T Jalio