Posted on May, 31, 2022 at 08:58 am
John Macharia has been growing Basmati rice at Bura Irrigation Scheme in Tana River but has now shifted to Komboka.
He said the new variety is high yielding and earns him more money than what he was earning from growing Basmati.
“I earned Sh300,000 from six acres of the Komboka rice then I increased to 10 acres which earned me close to half a million," he said.
Komboka rice variety has been released by the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation in partnership with the International Rice Research Institute.
Ruth Musila, a rice breeder from KALRO, said Komboka is high yielding and preferred by farmers because it is tasty compared to local Basmati.
"The Basmati variety that is also costly sells at Sh120 per kilo compared to the Komboka variety which goes for Sh100 per kilo and thus affordable to consumers,” said Musila adding that they also want to ensure farmers use certified seeds that yield more.
African Agricultural Technology Foundation rice project manager Kayode Sanni said Africa needs to adopt hybrid technology to boost rice productivity.
He said hybrid rice technologies offer significant yield gains that could build viable agri-businesses including investment in rice production by seed companies to enhance sustainable rice seed system for the benefit of African farmers.
He spoke on Friday during the fifth African Conference of Science Journalists organised by the Media for Environment, Science, Health, and Agriculture.
Sanni said Africa can be self-sufficient in rice production by increasing productivity, planting climate resilient varieties, improving crop management, and market linkage along rice value chain.
“The continent’s bill for importing rice only is currently estimated to stand at over Sh700.8 billion which is about 40 per cent of the continent’s rice requirements. Rice consumption in Africa is rising at about eight per cent against a yield increase of less than six per cent per year creating a deficit of over 13 million metric tonnes,” he said.
According to data from KALRO the current rice demand in Kenya per person/year is 20.6kg, and the country produces only around 15 per cent of what is consumed.
In 2020, Kenya produced 180,000 metric tonnes of rice, which is projected to increase by 10 per cent to 520,000 MT by 2030. In the same year, the country spent Sh25 billion to import rice.
Sanni noted that slow adoption by rice farmers caused by low awareness on the benefits of the technology, slow variety release process in some countries, higher cost of hybrid seed production, low capacity on hybrid rice and low level of private sector’s investment in rice seed production are some of the challenges hampering hybrid rice technology.
He said ongoing consolidated efforts towards promotion of hybrid rice in Africa by different partners has given birth to a public private alliance called the Alliance for Hybrid Rice in Africa.
The alliance, he said, ensures sustainable development, testing, production, promotion and commercialisation of hybrid rice in Africa.
“Through these efforts, over 15 different high yielding rice hybrids have been released in at least seven countries including Kenya and Tanzania, with yields above 10 tonnes per hectare,” he said, adding that in 10 years, it is expected that 3.3 million hectares of rice will be grown in Eastern Africa.
“We project that 40 per cent or 1.4 million hectares will be available for hybrids with revenue opportunities for early adopters projected to range between Sh11.7 billion to Sh14.6 billion,” he said.
Source: The Star