KENYA – Rice farmers within the West Kano Irrigation Scheme are starring at losses after heavy rains wreak havoc on their farms, destroying crops worth KES 50 million (US$326,000).
The scheme chairman Jared Odoyo says rice crop within the 650 acres is now wasted as the region continues to receive heavy amounts of rain.
Worst still, Odoyo says farmers took loans from banks and other microfinance institutions to develop their farms, which are now in ruins, adding that the bumper harvest they had hoped to get in January next year is now a dashed hope.
“Farmers are at a crossroads since they must repay the loans and with schools opening next year, it is going to be a disaster,” he said.
Odoyo says the outlet pump too has failed to cope with the magnitude of water as he appealed to both the county and national governments to assist farmers by acquiring a new pump.
“The outlet pump has been a problem to the farmers for two decades, it is a source of misery to the farmers and we would like to have a new pump bought,” he said.
The news comes at a time when the rice sector is under siege after the government announced its intent to privatize major rice mills.
Last week, farmers expressed their disappointment at the proposal by the government to privatize Western Kenya and Mwea rice mills.
During their demonstrations, farmers stated that they were shareholders in the facilities yet were not consulted.
As a result, the Kerugoya High Court granted orders stopping any public participation in the sale of the Mwea Rice Mill
This, the court ruled, is until the case is heard following a petition by two farmers Pius Njogu and John Munene.
High Court judge Richard Mwongo ruled that the respondent Cabinet Secretary for Treasury and the Attorney General had not responded to the petition by the two farmers.
Despite the misfortunes, the government of Kenya, through the National Rice Development Strategy seeks to increase rice production from 128,000 tonnes to 846,000 tonnes, sevenfold by 2030.
The agriculture PS Paul Ronoh revealed this through a speech read by the ministry’s Director for Crop Resources Management Douglas Kangi during the Kenya National Rice Conference held on November 16 in Nairobi.
The ambitions follow the implementation of the second phase of the NRDS 2019-2030 which is ongoing and seeks to increase local rice production to a level where Kenya becomes self-sufficient.
To achieve this, the National Rice Development Strategy is focused on developing new rice varieties that require less water to grow and produce better yields.
For all the latest grains industry news from Africa, the Middle East, and the World, subscribe to our weekly NEWSLETTERS, follow us on LinkedIn, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
