Kenyan farmers abandon maize for rice

Farmers in Kakamega ounty have turned to rice farming after other crops like cane and maize failed to yield better returns and profit.

One such farmer is Justus Obadiah from Shitari village Bukura. Obadiah grows Nerika four (4) type of rice.

“I have been planting this variety of rice for the last three years. It is high yielding and more profitable than planting maize or cane,” says Obadiah, who is also the Reach the Children country director.

Obadiah is passionate about teaching farming to young people, especially rice farming because it promises more returns compared to sugar cane and maize.

“I get double profit from rice farming than maize or cane farming. More cane farmers are abandoning it for rice because of the good returns,” he says.

He says rice has a ready market as it is a staple food for many people.

“With rice you cannot miss local customers,” he adds.

During a successful harvest, one gets between 15 to 20 90kg bags of unprocessed brown rice.

After processing, the farmer gets at least 15 bags of 90 kg clean rice if he/she harvested 20 bags of 90 kg bags brown rice.

Rice consumers purchase a kilo of clean rice at Sh100 per kg.

This implies that farmers earn over Sh135,000 (Sh100x90kgx20 bags) before deducting farm inputs and other expenses.

After deductions they go home with Sh95,000 (Sh100x 90kgx15 bags) as the net profit from their farm produce.

“From my experience as a farmer, I can say one can earn over Sh90,000 from one acre under rice,” he says.

Nerika four rice variety takes three months before it is ready for harvesting.

Obabiah, a seasoned farmer, shares a few basics about rice planting.

He says rice is planted in small terraces of 20cm-30cm apart, after three weeks it is ready for first weeding.

If the soil lacks nitrogen, a farmer can apply CAN fertiliser after first weeding to boost nitrogen content in the soil.

Before second weeding, the farmer is expected to apply CAN to boost the yields whether the soil has or lacks nitrogen.

After 90 days, the rice is ready for harvesting using a sickle.

When it is ready for harvesting it changes its colour to brown.

It is left to dry for three days before being processed and sieved to remove clean rice.

The remains which include stalks are processed into dairy or poultry feeds increasing the productivity of animals.

Obadiah together with Ituti-Matende Youth Group from Shitari village have planted Nerika rice in their farms for field training sessions and to empower youths in the area.

Most of the youths, mostly Form Four leavers, have embraced the idea as their source of income.

“I decided to involve youths from this area to empower them economically and stop them from idling. We have several rice milling plants in this region and we are planning to start our own as group,” he says.

Why rice is popular?

Obadiah says rice has the ability to provide fast and instant energy, regulate and improve bowel movements, stabilise blood sugar levels and slow down ageing.

It also provides an essential source of vitamin B1 to the body.

Rice is the country’s third staple food after maize and wheat due to its nutritional value.

Kenya relies on foreign countries like Pakistan to get rice despite having fertile soils and favourable weather for rice growing.

The country engages in small scale rice farming on irrigation schemes like Bura irrigation scheme along Tana River, Bunyala along River Nzoia in Busia, Mwea, Perkerra, Tan-Hola and West Kano irrigation schemes.

Rice farming in Kenya is estimated at between 33,000 and 50,000 metric tonnes, while consumption is between 180,000 and 250,000 tonnes.

With development of new varieties of rice, which use less water than other varieties, deliver high yields, and even contain more protein, have led more farmers to embrace rice farming.