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Kenya: Weed And Pest Resistant Rice Variety Boosts Harvests
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Business Daily (Nairobi)
6 February 2008
Posted to the web 6 February 2008
Maureen Ongwae
After the introduction of the Nerica rice variety in western Kenya five years ago, farmers who embraced the species are now reaping the benefits.
The variety, which received the backing of the Lake Victoria Basin Development Authority and the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, has outdone local species that have dominated the region for the last 45 years due to its ability to resist diseases and pests.
Cosmas Agumba Ouna, the chairman of Miguye Rice Irrigation Scheme in Nyando District, says that the new species matures a month earlier compared to the IR varieties the farmers grew at the time. "The IR varieties take over 120 days to mature, but the Nerica and Basmati species mature in 90 days," said Mr Ouna.
Besides, he said, the varieties are resistant to weeds and pests and are blessed with a characteristic of forming ratoons - new shoots that sprout from the main plant. This leads to increased yields per hectare.
"The new varieties form ratoons and this increases yield. In one acre of the new species, I harvest more compared to the IR species that yield less tones from the same piece of land," says Mr Ouna. Majority of rice farmers in Nyando district have embraced the variety as a way of fighting poverty.
Rice farmers say the adoption of the species has given them a new lease of life as it enables them to earn enough money to sustain their families in terms of good housing and provision of basic needs.
"Locals only built grass thatched houses, but since the adoption of the new rice varieties we are able to save and build iron sheet roofed houses," says Mr Ouna.
According to Evans Atera, a rice mill production officer at the Lake Basin Development Authority, the organisation has engaged in research in conjunction with Kari and Maseno University on the physiology of rice.
"The research is aimed at understanding the physiology of rice so that farmers can be advised on how to manage their rice fields for increased yields," says Mr Atera.
He says in 2006, western Kenya produced about half of the country's total output. The region yielded 40,000 metric tones of rice compared to 80,000 tonnes produced in the whole country. He said Busia and Teso districts had recorded tremendous yields.
This follows the partnership of various institutions among them the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (Jica), Kari, Maseno University and Sustainable Agriculture Centre for Research and Development (Sacred) Africa in doing research and offering extension services to the farmers.
The variety yields four to five metric tonnes per hectare compared to 1.5 to two tonnes produced by local varieties on the same size of plot. The annual consumption of rice in the country stands at 250,000 metric tonnes.
Mr Atera says that upon adoption of the variety in all the rice growing zones, the country will reduce the amount of money spent on imports of the cereal. The use of inferior cultivators, low investments in production, low farm-gate prices, and inadequate rainfall have led to low production of the crop in western region although the area has capacity to produce more of the grain.
In 2006, 18 New Rice for Africa (Nerica) varieties were introduced as species that could increase rice production in the country.
The project evaluated the adaptability of the Nerica rice varieties in different settings in western Kenya. Various research institutions provided scientific backup for the project.
Farmers' groups were trained to serve as focal points for training in Nerica production technologies, post-harvest handling, value adding, marketing, and good business practices.
In 2006, the project was implemented in Bungoma, Busia and Teso districts and they have registered tremendous yields recently.
However, the sector has been affected by the ongoing political unrest in the country with some milling factories slowing down operations. A farmer in Nyando, Mr George Obaye, says he can not risk taking his rice to the National Cereals and Produce Board since payment for previous deliveries has not been made.
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As a result, majority of farmers in the region have resorted to storing the cereals in their homes as they wait for a permanent solution to the political stalemate. "There is a lot of rice at the board and we cannot take any more to the facility because we fear that we might not be paid soon," says Mr Obaye.
I was amazed by the agricultural information I can get from this website. Please keep on educating African farmers for Africa to get out of poverty yokes. Keep it up Julius Bor, Jonglei State. South Sudan
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