'Fake pishori'?: Mwea residents say adulterated rice being sold as premium variety

It is even more vexxing when the seller knowingly delivers the wrong product - call it daylight robbery if you will.

A section of pishori rice consumers have raised concerns about possible adulteration of the variety by unscrupulous farmers they accuse of mixing two varieties of rice and selling it under the pishori rice name.

Many consumers like the pishori  varietybecause of its sweet natural taste, quality, and unique aroma.

Its long grains and the fact that grains do not stick together after cooking make it a favourite dish that is usually reserved for guests at the high table during functions.

Due to its superior quality, it is also sold at a higher price compared to other varieties.

Pishori takes time to mature, so the supply sometimes does not meet the demand.

Pishori rice is mostly grown in Mwea, Kirinyaga county.

Mwea residents often get the product first before it is distributed.

However, a section of residents have complained that the current pishori they are buying from the shops is not the same quality as what they used to consume barely two years ago.

They suspect some farmers mix pishori rice with Komboka rice, which has similar features as pishori but is different in taste and price. It is cheaper.

“Having lived in Mwea for almost five years now. I have eaten pishori for long and I know how it tastes. I have taken komboka too and know the taste. Lately, the pishori that we buy from the shops has not been the pishorii we know. We suspect that the farmers mix pishori and komboka during packing because they are almost similar. However, we get it at pishori price. Pure Pishori goes for Ksh 180 per kilogram while Komboka goes for Ksh 100 for a similar quantity," Dennis Kabugi, a resident and pishori consumer, told Wananchi Reporting.

Farmers have insisted what is sold is pure pishori rice therefore the jury is still out on the quality of pishori rice making its way to households' tables.

Additional reporting by Janet Akinyi