Rice

Rice production involves various steps including; seedling production, sowing, seedbed preparation, main land preparation, transplanting, main field water management, weeding, pest and disease control, husbandly and harvesting ,threshing, winnowing, drying, storage. About 95% rice production in Kenya is grown under irrigation in paddy schemes managed by the National Irrigation Board (NIB).

In East Africa, rice is fast becoming an important food and cash crop with a per capita consumption range of 11 to 16 kg per person per year (USDA, 2010). In Kenya, the crop introduced in 1907, is grown in all rice production ecologies. National rice consumption is estimated at 300,000 metric tons compared to an annual production range of 45,000 to 80,000 metric tons.

The deficit is met through imports whose value was KES 7 billion in 2008. The current rice production is estimated at 80,000 metric tons on about 20,000 hectares of land. This production meets only 16% of total demand which is expected to rise with increasing youth population and change in eating habits. Rice consumption is increasing at a rate of 12% annually as compared to 4% for wheat and 1% for maize.