The National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) targets to install a new rice mill in Kisumu this financial year, boosting farmers long inconvenienced by inadequate milling services.
It said the mill would have the capacity to process 2.5 tonnes of rice paddy per hour (TPH) and will be situated within its warehouses on Kisumu’s Nkurumah Road.
“Consequently, we are seeking proposals from qualified contractors for the design, supply, and installation of a 2.5TPH rice mill of European make,” NCPB said.
“The rice mill will be installed in an existing store and the bidder will need to make improvements to the store, including but not limited to painting, upgrading the surrounding compound, floor repairs, partitioning, and creating some office spaces” it added.
The NCPB mill is expected to supplement two others owned by the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) in the lakeside city. State-owned LBDA said in 2021 it would install a Sh65 million rice milling machine in Kisumu with a capacity of 3.5 tonnes of paddy rice per hour to supplement an existing one and would serve thousands of farmers from Ahero (Kisumu County) Nyatike (Migori County) and Bunyala (Busia County).
Annual rice production in Kenya stands at between 35,000 and 50,000 tonnes, a deficit position that has seen Kenya import over 70 per cent of the commodity to meet its annual needs.
Kenya imports at least 80 per cent of the total rice that is consumed locally to bridge the huge shortfall in production with traders and millers paying a 35 per cent duty on imported produce.
Leading importer
Huge volumes of rice consumed in Kenya come from Pakistan. The high commission for Pakistan said recently that they are keen to increase the volumes of rice that come to Kenya, pointing out that the country is a leading importer of the product in the East African region.
Mwea irrigation scheme accounts for 80 per cent of Kenya’s rice production playing a major role in the supply of grain in the country that relies on imports to bridge the deficit. Kenya produces 150,000 tonnes a year creating a deficit of 250,000 met through imports.
The cheaper imports, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, are sold at low prices and then blended with Mwea Aromatic Pishori rice to be traded as pishori variety, at a cheaper price, knocking off demand for the original variety that Mwea is known for.
The Agriculture Ministry’s Rice Promotion Programme Unit says the practice is illegal and should be stopped with those found engaging in the illicit business should be arrested and prosecuted.
Cheap imports
The country is opening up more land for growing rice as it seeks to cut cheap imports that have, on many occasions, negatively impacted farmers who grow the crop locally.
For instance, the National Irrigation Authority is promoting the growing of rice in regions where the crop has not been planted before, especially with the introduction of rice varieties that do not require flooding (irrigation).
The National Irrigation Authority this year commissioned the Sh8.2 billion Thiba Dam in Kirinyaga County to expand the size of land under the cover of rice at the Mwea Irrigation Scheme.
The dam will put an additional 10,000 acres under rice on top of the current 25,000 acres, coming as a major boost for local production at the Mwea Irrigation Scheme.
