After years of research, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization is now conducting trials for climate-smart, high-yielding varieties of rice. This is in an effort to increase food production in Kenya.
KALRO’s contribution to the National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS 2019-2030), which aims at increasing food security, income, and sustainable rice production.
KALRO has released a total of nine improved rice varieties for both upland and lowland agro-ecologies. Three varieties of the improved rice varieties are available. Komboka, CSR36, 08FAN10 dubbed Mkombozi by farmers because it is early maturing.
The CSR36 variety of rice, which is a long-slender, non-sticky and non-sticky variety, has passed the National Performance trials. It was then subject to a distinctiveness; uniformity & stability test.
The CSR36 variety can be grown in soils with a higher than 8.5 pH.
“The grains have long slender and aromatic attributes that match the consumer preference for milled white rice in Kenya.
Wide adoption of CSR36 offers an opportunity to utilize the salt affected areas for rice production and to significantly increase rice production and set the country free from the ballooning rice imports,’’ said KALRO Director General Dr. Eliud Kireger in his speech read by Finyange Pole Director at Industrial Crop Development Institute.
Rice is one of the major food crops after maize and the consumption of rice has been increasing “because the young Turks nowadays prefer rice and potatoes with that high demand for rice there is need to ensure we produce a lot of rice to feed our people,’’ said Finyange at the Tana Irrigation Scheme.
The country’s rice deficit of around 100,000 metric tonnes is filled through importation making the country lose in foreign exchange.
Finyange says that the only solution is to create our own solutions. This includes increasing production by increasing the country’s rice cultivation area, and increasing productivity by producing a superior variety that is climate smart.
KALRO has changed its strategy for rolling out new varieties. It is now working backwards with farmers to determine the best variety and to meet market needs.
All rice-producing irrigation systems in the country are currently undergoing trials to find a variety that yields high. Farmers will have a wide range of options and management techniques to increase food production.
“Two varieties have been released and others are in the pipeline to be released, all of them with different traits like they are varieties which are salt tolerant and if a variety is not salt tolerant will not perform,” said the Director of Industrial Crop Development Institute.
Raphael Kitonyi, State Department for Crop Development, stated that since 2008 Kenya has prioritized rice for food security.
“Among cereal crops, rice is ranked third after maize and wheat and is a close alternative to the challenges bedeviling the maize sector. We are producing about just 10 per cent of the national consumption with the rest being imported to fill the deficit being sought from Asia countries,” he said.
Kenya has a rice-development strategy that aims to make the country rice-sufficient by 2030, with zero imports.
By Sadik Hassan
Source: kenyanews
