Rice farming in Ahero irrigation scheme has peaked a notch higher after the National Irrigation Authority introduced mechanized rice harvesting to the local framers.
Nyanza Regional Coordinator for the National Irrigation Authority (NIA,) John Tanui revealed that the introduction of the harvesters follows a study that revealed that farmers incur losses of up to 30 per cent of their income during the harvesting season, which compelled them to introduce the rice harvesters, which has now completely revolutionized the farmers’ earnings pushing them upwards.
“For the last four or five years we have been doing studies on the losses the framers incur in terms of post-harvest losses and we have realized that farmers lose up to 30 percent of their produce during the post-harvest stage and the percentage that is substantive money for the farmer,” he said.
He said a farmer who is used to getting Sh100, 000 per acre used to lose up to Sh30,000 in harvesting which is enough for them to do production activities.
“We introduced combine harvesters and as we speak now, all the farmers in this region have mechanized rice harvesting,” noted Tanui.
Tanui noted that the use of combined harvesters has increased rice production to 40 bags from 20 bags per acre previously.
The farmer also hailed the introduction of the combine harvester as having led to the harvesting of cleaner rice without many husks and impurities as opposed to the situation before.
The Coordinator has therefore urged the farmers to embrace use of the harvester to lessen their burden of harvesting and also make their rice more likable in the market.
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Tanui also disclosed some of the plans NIA has in the pipeline for the rice farmers such as introducing the mechanical drying of rice to save on time and losses even as he revealed that the scheme has already acquired a rice trans planter to replace manual planting.
The Ahero rice farmers led by their Chairman, John Obiero, hailed the mechanized rice harvesting for sprucing their income and advised local farmers to embrace the technology.
SOURCES: Capital business
