Rice scheme hopes to plug supply shortfall

Hariet Gracia Casual laborer work at her uncle rice farm at Sagama Lower Kuja Irrigation scheme in Nyatike Migori County [Caleb Kingwara, Standard]

Kenya is likely to bridge its 400,000 metric tonne rice supply deficit as the expanded Bunyala Irrigation Scheme begins operations.

Farmers in the newly established Magavera expansion area of Bunyala Irrigation Scheme are a happy lot after the National Irrigation Authority opened up their previous swampy farms for irrigated rice farming.

The Bunyala Irrigation Scheme was started in the 1960s with just 500 acres, the progressive expansion works undertaken by the National Irrigation Authority, aiming at achieving food security, has seen it develop it its current over 3,000 acres and number of beneficiaries grow from 120 households to over 2,000 households.

Edwin Manyonge, Manager Bunyala Irrigation Scheme says from 2014 to date, they have moved the acreage from 1,334 to 3,126 acres spreading across the Usonga subcounty and Budalangi subcounty in Siaya and Busia counties respectively.

Irrigation infrastructure

 “We were looking at what is a win-win situation, we did our survey and realised we have sufficient acreage and we can use the water to do irrigation,” said Manyonge.

This project taps its water from the main drain of river Nzoia and Yala swamp. The overflow of the drain has been a threat for villagers in the Magavera area for decades until the National Irrigation Authority undertook a survey to establish the suitability of the swampy farms with an aim of utilising them for irrigation purposes.

After studies confirmed the farms are suitable, tests on the water quality were done by the authority’s research centre in Ahero. After it was confirmed that the soils and water are suitable for farming, installation of irrigation infrastructure commenced in October, 2021.

“There about 200 farmers are benefiting from irrigation in the first phase covering 300 acres that is under crop,” said Manyonge.

Christine Anyankii said this was also done as a form of controlling the flooding in the area.

She said the project has provided a livelihood to farmers who have been leasing farms from the main Bunyala Irrigation scheme for years and are excited that they are now able to produce food from their farms.

“This project is of great help to me because I can put food on the table, send my children to school, and buy them clothes,” said Anyankii.

She added: “I sell the produce at Sh50 per kilo, once we harvest we collect in the main stores, based on the price and capacity to purchase, we send the produce to the buyers.”

According to the authority, the potential for expansion in the area is 2,000 acres where already 600 acres have been put under irrigation infrastructure.

Capacity building of farmers is ongoing in the 300 acres that has not been cropped while farmers in the cropped 300 acres are already harvesting their first crop.

The scheme gets its water from River Nzoia through pumping. This is however about to end once the ongoing construction of Lower Nzoia Irrigation Project is complete. The scheme lies in block 14 of the Lower Nzoia Irrigation Project whose designed potential is 22,000 acres.

The ongoing phase one targets to convey water through gravity to 10,000 acres, constructing of a dyke to control the perennial flooding of Nzoia River as well as construction of a canal to link the existing Bunyala Irrigation scheme to the lower Nzoia gravity intake. This will enable farmers get water through gravity and greatly reduce cost of production.

With the demand of rice on an upward trajectory and currently standing at 600,000 metric tonnes per year, and Kenya only producing about 200,000 metric tonnes a year, there is hope of bridging the gap between demand and supply with implementation of projects such as Magavera expansion area in Bunyala Irrigation Scheme and lower Nzoia Irrigation project.