Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=121068
Rice shortage looms as fungi wreak havoc
Story by GEORGE MUNENE
Publication Date: 4/13/2008
A severe shortage of rice looms in the country after a fungal disease destroyed upto 14,753 acres of rice crop at the giant Mwea Irrigation Settlement Scheme in Kirinyaga district.
Some 4,500 farmers who depend on the crop face a bleak future after their crops were wiped out in one of the worst crop disease outbreaks at the scheme in recent months. Mwea is the largest such scheme in East and Central Africa and produces 80 per cent of rice consumed in the country.
Already, consumers have started feeling the impact of the fungi Blast as one kilogramme of Basmati now goes at Sh75 up from Sh60 - the highest price in recent times. The disease mostly affects the Pishori/Basmati rice variety commonly grown in the area.
The outbreak is the first since 1950s when rice growing was introduced in the area by colonialists. Majority of the growers are lost for words as their production had declined to shocking levels.
The farmers say will starve as the crop was their only source of livelihood. ?Unless someone comes to our aid, we shall surely suffer from hunger,? Mzee Philip Wachira, 64, says. Due to the outbreak, farmers are harvesting between five and eight bags of paddy per acre instead of the usual 30 - a big loss by any standards.
Assess the situation
A farmer Mr Joseph Muchiri, 58 says almost the entire crop in his four acre farm was destroyed.He recounts that the crop started turning white in colour as it was about to ripen, then withered. He could only produce less than fifteen bags from the four acres he had been working on over the years.
?I have now been reduced to a pauper and my life will not be the same again,? he lamented
Wamumu sub-locational assistant chief, Wanjohi Kariuki admits that the situation was so bad in the rice farms and farmers might need assistance inorder to move on with their lives.
?We have lost much to this strange disease never witnessed in the area before,?? a rice farmer Mr Charles Ngugi said and called on the Government to address the issue and ensure the disease is contained once and for all.
Originally designed by colonialists as a detention camp before independence, the Scheme is divided into five sections Mwea, Tebere, Thiba, Wamumu and Karaba.The most hit section is Karaba which has about 2,600 acres of rice field.
Following the outbreak, agricultural experts led by a research scientist Raphael Wanjogu who is in charge of Mwea Inter-grated Agricultural Development(MIAD) centre are criss-crossing the scheme to assess the situation.
He attributes the outbreak to poor seeds, use of unrecommended fertilisers and climatic changes due to interference with the environment. He is emphatic that it is difficult to eradicate the disease once it attacks the crop and prevention remained the best method in dealing with the fungi.
Better seeds
A crop protection officer based at MIAD, Mr Alex Akonkwo says Blast was first reported in the country in 2006, at Bunyala Irrigation Scheme in Western Kenya where it caused a lot of damage to Basmati rice crop.
A senior researcher at the centre, Mr Martin Mutie recommended that farmers embark on rotational farming and use proper crop husbandry to get rid of the disease.
Kirinyaga agricultural officer Mr Lucas Mureithi said most of the problems being witnessed in the scheme have been brought about by liberalisation.
Since the farmers rejected the National Irrigation Board which used to manage the Scheme and market their produce, there has been no order in the farming of the so-called white-gold with a potential of earning Sh1.4billion per season, he said.
Before the farmers pulled out of NIB, the government used to invest Sh300million in rice growing every season. The money bought chemicals which were used to prevent Blast and to buy farm inputs. It was also used for research on better seeds and preparation of farms and other services.
With proper crop husbandry, the Scheme which is the country?s granary can produce upto 500,000 bags of unprocessed rice in one season.
Rice shortage looms as fungi wreak havoc
Story by GEORGE MUNENE
Publication Date: 4/13/2008
A severe shortage of rice looms in the country after a fungal disease destroyed upto 14,753 acres of rice crop at the giant Mwea Irrigation Settlement Scheme in Kirinyaga district.
Some 4,500 farmers who depend on the crop face a bleak future after their crops were wiped out in one of the worst crop disease outbreaks at the scheme in recent months. Mwea is the largest such scheme in East and Central Africa and produces 80 per cent of rice consumed in the country.
Already, consumers have started feeling the impact of the fungi Blast as one kilogramme of Basmati now goes at Sh75 up from Sh60 - the highest price in recent times. The disease mostly affects the Pishori/Basmati rice variety commonly grown in the area.
The outbreak is the first since 1950s when rice growing was introduced in the area by colonialists. Majority of the growers are lost for words as their production had declined to shocking levels.
The farmers say will starve as the crop was their only source of livelihood. ?Unless someone comes to our aid, we shall surely suffer from hunger,? Mzee Philip Wachira, 64, says. Due to the outbreak, farmers are harvesting between five and eight bags of paddy per acre instead of the usual 30 - a big loss by any standards.
Assess the situation
A farmer Mr Joseph Muchiri, 58 says almost the entire crop in his four acre farm was destroyed.He recounts that the crop started turning white in colour as it was about to ripen, then withered. He could only produce less than fifteen bags from the four acres he had been working on over the years.
?I have now been reduced to a pauper and my life will not be the same again,? he lamented
Wamumu sub-locational assistant chief, Wanjohi Kariuki admits that the situation was so bad in the rice farms and farmers might need assistance inorder to move on with their lives.
?We have lost much to this strange disease never witnessed in the area before,?? a rice farmer Mr Charles Ngugi said and called on the Government to address the issue and ensure the disease is contained once and for all.
Originally designed by colonialists as a detention camp before independence, the Scheme is divided into five sections Mwea, Tebere, Thiba, Wamumu and Karaba.The most hit section is Karaba which has about 2,600 acres of rice field.
Following the outbreak, agricultural experts led by a research scientist Raphael Wanjogu who is in charge of Mwea Inter-grated Agricultural Development(MIAD) centre are criss-crossing the scheme to assess the situation.
He attributes the outbreak to poor seeds, use of unrecommended fertilisers and climatic changes due to interference with the environment. He is emphatic that it is difficult to eradicate the disease once it attacks the crop and prevention remained the best method in dealing with the fungi.
Better seeds
A crop protection officer based at MIAD, Mr Alex Akonkwo says Blast was first reported in the country in 2006, at Bunyala Irrigation Scheme in Western Kenya where it caused a lot of damage to Basmati rice crop.
A senior researcher at the centre, Mr Martin Mutie recommended that farmers embark on rotational farming and use proper crop husbandry to get rid of the disease.
Kirinyaga agricultural officer Mr Lucas Mureithi said most of the problems being witnessed in the scheme have been brought about by liberalisation.
Since the farmers rejected the National Irrigation Board which used to manage the Scheme and market their produce, there has been no order in the farming of the so-called white-gold with a potential of earning Sh1.4billion per season, he said.
Before the farmers pulled out of NIB, the government used to invest Sh300million in rice growing every season. The money bought chemicals which were used to prevent Blast and to buy farm inputs. It was also used for research on better seeds and preparation of farms and other services.
With proper crop husbandry, the Scheme which is the country?s granary can produce upto 500,000 bags of unprocessed rice in one season.