Posted on April, 3, 2025 at 06:05 pm
Taita Taveta County is the next frontier for rice production in the country, Kenya Agricultural Livestock and Research Organization (KALRO) Director General Dr. Eliud Kireger has said.
The potential for rice in the area is huge, and although a lot of farmers are increasing rice production, there are no milling facilities, he said.
“When we talk of rice, we talk of the Mwea, Ahero, and Budalagi areas. Nobody mentions the potential or even new areas such as Taita Taveta,” the DG said.
Dr. Kireger was speaking in Mwea on Wednesday when he received machinery, equipment, and digital devices from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) that will enhance operational efficiency, productivity, and data quality, advancing research not only in rice but also in other key crops.
“The Mwea area is almost saturated, and the land that we have has fully been utilized in terms of production, and now we can only increase efficiency and use of quality seeds, and this means expanding to other areas,” he said.
He explained that the country produces slightly less than 20 percent of the required rice which is around 250,000 metric tonnes while consumption is over a million metric tonnes thereby importing about 80 percent to meet the deficit.
“To be able to bridge that deficit, a lot of work has to be done both in terms of expansion of the area under rice and also increasing production within the areas that have already been cultivated,” Dr. Kireger noted.
The DG further noted that with the partnership with IRRI, last month, they released two new high-yielding, climate-smart rice varieties, KALIMARA (CSR36) and KALPAA (08FAN10), that could do very well in the new areas.
“These particular varieties are tolerant to salinity so that is very important thus can do well, especially in areas such as Taita Taveta where we expect that the soils are saturated with sunlight,” he noted.
The KALIMARA variety is resilient, suited to saline-sodic soils, which means soils with high levels of salt as well as high alkalinity with pH levels of 9.6, and matures within 120–125 days, yielding between 5 to 5.5 tonnes per hectare in saline conditions and up to 6.5 tonnes per hectare under normal conditions. he explained.
He further said that the variety’s longer, slender, aromatic grains are well-suited to Kenyan consumer preferences.
As for KALPAA, Dr. Kireger said that the variety matures in just 85 days, which is 20 days earlier than Komboka rice and yields between 6.5 and 7 tons per hectare.
Komboka rice, developed and released in 2013, is a high-yielding, early-maturing rice variety known for its good cooking quality, aroma, and high yields, aiming to reduce rice imports and enhance food security.
“While the KALPAA variety lacks aroma, it boasts a soft texture and is non-sticky when cooked, making it equally attractive to local consumers and also having traditionally driven importation and therefore their widespread adoption could significantly reduce Kenya’s rice import burden,” said Dr. Kireger.
The DG said that the mechanisation equipment received from IRRI to the country is timely, noting that the efficiency and increase in production could move imports from 80 percent to 50 percent in the next two years and in the next five years, reduce even more to less than 20 percent. This would mean huge savings in terms of foreign exchange, he noted.
Dr. Kireger added that the tools would further significantly strengthen their shared efforts in crop research and mechanization that are essential to realizing Kenya’s food and nutrition security objectives.
IRRI Regional Representative for Africa Dr. Abdelbagi M. Ismail said mechanization is the way to go to improve production, giving an example of India, which used to import a lot of rice but because of modernizing their system and developing good varieties has become a major global rice producer and exporter.
“India is exporting more than 26 million tonnes of rice every year. Any country can do that but not when it still uses inefficient systems and traditional methods for Agriculture,” he said.
Dr. Ismail noted that Mwea would now be one of the most advanced schemes in the country and also in the region in terms of mechanization.
“We are hoping to extend beyond Mwea and also mechanize all the irrigation schemes and rainfed areas, and this will be a big step for rice production in Kenya. We will be able to cut costs by half, farmers will be able to grow large areas and have multiple crops per year and also triple productivity,” he said.
Dr. Ismail said the equipment donated by IRRI was worth Sh35 million and promised that the process was just a start as they would continue supporting KALRO where there were deficiencies.
IRRI donated a 75-horsepower New Holland tractor, a laser leveller, and a rotavator, as well as other additional equipment, including dryers, mobile threshers, printers, and digital devices that will be distributed across KALRO regional centers.
Dr. Ismail mentioned that the donated tractor could replace hundreds of farmers working on the farm for over two to three weeks by doing the work in just one day, while the laser leveller is essential as it uses less water, controls weeds very well, thus resulting in more evenly maturing crops and triple yields.
“Mechanization brings in a lot of efficiency and also brings in a lot of savings into resources, and also for farmers, especially women who are the ones transplanting, digging holes in the field, controlling weeds and spending the whole day in hot weather,” Dr. Ismail said.
Rice is Kenya’s third-most important cereal crop after maize and wheat. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, paddy rice production in Kenya has doubled over the past six years, from 116,000 metric tonnes in 2018 to 244,000 metric tonnes in 2023, but despite the impressive growth, consumption continues to rise, with the national rice self-sufficiency rate still below 20 percent.
In recent years, Kenya has seen a shift towards promoting and encouraging the cultivation of rice, especially upland in counties such as Meru, Embu, and Tharaka Nithi and also Elgeyo-Marakwet, Baringo, West Pokot, Turkana, Samburu, and Kajiado, with the aim to address food shortages and reduce reliance on rice imports.
Source: KNA