Rice growing in Siaya has faced numerous challenges, including low-yield varieties and outdated farming technology. To address these issues, the County Government of Siaya, in partnership with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), is establishing 8 rice nurseries in Anyiko and Sifuyo Rice Schemes to trial new high-yield, disease-resistant hybrid varieties. The trials are meant to determine which types offer the best performance under local conditions where the identified types will be grown in commercial-scale.
The primary purpose of this collaboration is improving farm income for producers using advanced technology. Among the tested rice varieties certain benefits should be harvested, such as the possibility to reach the highest yields, earlier maturation, and disease tolerance to main rice diseases. Moreover, these new hybrid varieties are expected to be much easier to manage or less demanding as far as management inputs are concerned hence more farmer friendly and minimizing the labour input needed to produce rice. With these better varieties of rice, the project hopes to enhance productivity and production returns for the farmers to proffer rice as the crop that can transform the local agricultural economy.
The County Directorate of Crops has emphasised on the importance of the establishment of crops to result in optimum production. As advanced in modern production management methodologies, rice should be grown in nurseries before planting in the actual field. The ideal time for the exercise is between 12 to 21 days after the seedlings are grown in the nurseries. This approach leads to controlled soak time and hence better root development, healthy plants that in turn give better crop outcomes. Another advantage which use of nurseries is in supporting the proper and efficient use of water resources and reduction of weeds before transplanting the rice plant into the main field.
As part of its mandate, the Siaya County Department of Agriculture is willing to help farmers through all the developmental stages of rice production. Close supervision and teaching will be offered to the farmers by extension officers before and after the innovation adoption so that they can easily practice modern techniques of farming. This kind of hand-holding supports the county’s long-term vision for economic improvement of the lives of people through enhancing the value chain of rice. The county has also sought to popularize rice as its essential crop for food security and job creation to enhance the longevity of Siaya’s agriculture sector.