Farmers embracing Rice Farming

The third main cereal in Kenya behind maize and wheat is rice. The farming of ice is growing at a steady pace in Murang’a County. So why are farmers embracing rice farming?

Over the years, rice has been grown in established irrigation schemes like Ahero, Bunyala, West Kano and the central Kenya’s Mwea scheme in Kirinyaga County.

Irrigation techniques created in Ahero, West Kano and Bunyala have worked wonders for rice farming. However, in Kiharu constituency it is notable that residents have started embracing the farming of the white crop.

A farmer embracing rice farming 

Phillis Njeri, is a farmer who stopped growing the familiar maize and bean crop in early 2019.  She since moved into the farming of rice as it showed much more promise.

Additionally, her motivation came from witnessing people in her area leasing more land for the farming of rice.

“They received huge returns and I got interested in the venture as well.  I quit planting maize and beans which were no longer sustainable,” observes Njeri

In addition to her seeing the progress of her peers, she leased an acre in Kimathi and planted more rice.

Furthermore, rice as a crop is versatile and is able to grow in a variety of soils. It is able to survive flooding and can thrive in soils with a range of PH levels.

The Kimathi-Githuuri water project initiated done by the Murang’a County administration made rice farming an attractive venture for farmers.

Ms Njeri believes that rice farming is the way to go from all the advancements by all parties involved.

Conclusively, movement to a more sustainable crop with more inroads by the county is helping the people in these various regions.

Find out more about how to yield big from rice farming HERE