Kisumu's Sh30m rice plant set to begin operations

Rice farmers in Kisumu will benefit from Sh30 million rice milling plant in Ahero as authorities step up efforts to boost production.

The county government signed a strategic lease agreement with the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) and a privately owned upland crop company to operate the mill.

The mill with a processing capacity of 2.5 metric tons per hour will translate to an output of 60 tons of milled rice per day.

This will ensure ready market for small and medium scale rice farmers in the larger western Kenya irrigation schemes.

In 2021, Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong'o ordered the acquisition of the mill to complement an older one operated by the NIA, which could not cope with the increased paddy production.

Agriculture and Fisheries Executive Member, Kennedy Onyango, said rice farmers will also benefit from fertilisers, herbicides and mechanisation support.

Onyango further said that the farmers will also access contract farming arrangements as well as income from by products such as rice husks and bran mixed with sunflower which can be used to produce poultry and fish feed.

"The rice farming acreage has expanded from 15,000 in 2017 to over 19,000 acres. This has been brought about as a result of the intervention by the county government through expansion of community based irrigation schemes," he said.

The CEC who spoke during the signing of the partnership said the project aligns with national government's Bottom up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) which prioritises local agricultural productivity to reduce reliance on imports.

Onyango explained that with the new arrangement, Upland Crop Limited will manage and operate the mill as a private venture, injecting capital, experience and efficiency into what was once a dormant facility.

He note that for the past two years since the mill was installed, there has been a delay due to the bureaucratic nature of the Public Private Partnership process.

Since 2021, rice production in the Nyando belt has risen from 8,341 tons in 2023 to 15,566 tons.

Currently, Kenya produces 150,000 tons of a rice a year leaving a 250,000 tons deficit that is met through imports.