Kenya introduces new hybrid rice in Mwea

A new hybrid rice has been introduced in Mwea, Kenya. Dr. Emmanuel Okogbenin, the director in charge of programs and commercialization at the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF), made the announcement and said the new rice variety is more yielding and early maturing.

The move is set to replace the demand for imported rice in the country. According to Dr. Emmanuel Okogbenin, the new breed of rice according to scientists is more favorable to the Kenyan masses and is cheap when compared with the imported rice.

African Agriculture Technology Foundation (ATTF) has been collaborating with Kenya Agricultural Research and Livestock Organization in Mwea in the development of the hybrid rice. Already 400 acres have been supplied with the rice and true to the expert’s words’ the crop is already growing faster than the traditional rice.

Rice consumption in Kenya

“It is heart breaking for Kenya and the entire Africa to continue importing food while they have the ability to produce their own at a local level. Our objective is to achieve prosperity for the farmers through technology as will be evidenced through the hybrid rice. There is a greater need for the adoption of the technology in order to increase rice production in Kenya and in Africa as a whole,” Okogbenin said.

Okogbenin said the level of rice consumption in Kenya stands at 650,000 tons as compared to the production, which is at 150,000 tons. As a result, the deficit is met by the importation of 500,000 tons of rice yearly. The crop scientist further observed consumption of rice has increased by 13% while productivity grew by only 3% and hence the need to jump start rice production in the country.