Mwea farmers oppose importation of rice, say they have over 400,000 tonnes in store

Barely a week after the Ministry of Agriculture gazetted the importation of at least 1.5 million tonnes of maize and rice duty-free, rice farmers in Mwea, Kirinyaga County, have protested the move saying they have enough stock to feed the country until the next harvest in 2023.

According to the farmers, duty-free rice will damage the market for their produce as it is likely to be cheaper. The farmers say high production costs mean they would have to sell at a loss to compete.

The farmers want the government to purchase their produce before any importation of similar products and are saying they are experiencing a bumper harvest.

"Farmers are harvesting the main crop and so far they have brought 400,000 tonnes to the society, and we are expecting more and more rice to come," said Ndege Muriuki, Chairman of the Mwea Rice Growers Multipurpose Co-Op Society.

The farmers have decried the looming entry of duty-free rice saying it will seriously reduce the market for their produce and force them to sell at a loss given the high costs of production in the country

"Lakini wasilete mchele ya mzungu kama huku hatujamaliza mchele yetu. Kuenda kununulia Mpakistan mchele si kusaidia hustler, ni kuua hustler. Tumelima na gharama ya juu sana...fertilizer na kila kitu ilikuwa juu...halafu mtuletee mchele ya nje yenye wamesaidiwa na serikali yao kulima na sisi hapa ni ku-hustle...hiyo ni kutumaliza," lamented Pius Njogu, a farmer.

Pius Munene, another farmer, added: "Kama hawa ni watu wanalima huku, wametumia pesa nyingi sana alafu unaleta mchele kutoka nje utakuwa umesaidia hawa watu aje?"

Crop Development Principal Secretary Kello Harsama okayed the importation of duty-free maize and rice in a gazette notice on Thursday, two days after President William Ruto announced plans to import the produce between February and August next year.

The notice that gave millers who are interested in importing the produce 15 days to submit their documents indicated that 600,000 metric tonnes of rice and 900, 000 metric tonnes of maize will be coming into the country to bridge the deficit

Kirinyaga Senator James Kamau Murango has written to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) asking them to mobilize funds through the strategic food reserve trust fund and buy rice through the Mwea NCPB depot saying farmers are experiencing a bumper harvest

In the letter dated November 29, 2022, Murango says, “Pursuant to legal notice no. 15 of 2015, strategic food reserve includes rice. Currently, in Mwea Irrigation Scheme, farmers are experiencing a bumper harvest for the 2022/2023 cropping season. Consequently, middlemen have flooded the scheme with the singular intention of exposing farmers through exploitative paddy rice prices. These risks expose farmers to financial loss which is against the Kenya Kwanza government's commitment to making agriculture a profitable investment.”

Murango also wrote to the Kenya National Trading Corporation seeking information on plans to buy rice from farmers in the region as directed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in February 2020.

He said, “On February 1, 2020 during a visit to Kirinyaga County, the then president issued a presidential directive requiring government through your corporation to buy paddy rice from Mwea Irrigation Scheme farmers at Ksh. 85 for consumption by government institutions such as prisons, the military, Kenya police, and educational institutions among others. Subsequently, a rice-buying fund worth Ksh.600 million was established.”

Mwea Rice Growers Multipurpose Co-Op Society Chairman Ndege Muriuki on his part noted: "I would ask the government to sincerely consider the rice farmer in Mwea and elsewhere before they think of any importation, they offtake our rice so that we can be able to return to the farm.”

According to Ndege, apart from the 400, 000 tonnes in their stores, they are hoping to harvest over 600, 000 tonnes more in February and by the close of the season, the farmers say they will have close to 1 million tonnes.