NIA plans Sh550m road upgrade to boost rice farmers

By Mutai Kipng’etich (KNA)

The National Irrigation Authority (NIA) will seek Sh550 million supplementary funding to improve roads at the Mwea Irrigation Scheme.

NIA chairperson Gilbert Maluki said the proposed intervention will cover about 475 kilometres of roads and help reduce the cost of transporting produce, currently estimated at about Sh1,000 per trip.

He said the authority is working with other government agencies to ensure rice farmers get better returns from their produce.

“The motive we have here is to make sure the farmer gets value for his hard work,” Maluki said.

A team of National Irrigation Authority, in consultation with KERA, have already mapped the road networks and come up with estimated total length and cost.

This comes as the Government says it will use Sh1 billion through the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) to purchase rice from farmers.

According to Maluki, there will be discussions between the NIA, KNTC and other agencies to establish how the bought rice can be supplied to the Ministries of Education and Special Programmes. 

This will ensure there will be a reliable market for locally-produced rice for farmers to benefit.

Maluki said the agencies need to coordinate their procurement and distribution activities to create a sustainable market for farmers.

Meanwhile, Mwea Rice Growers Multipurpose Cooperative Society chairman Ndege Muriuki said farmers had received payments for the last rice mop up exercise by the government.

“The had faced challenges over delayed payments but are relieved after receiving their money,” Muriuki said.

He called for greater support for farmers through subsidized fertilizer programmes, saying cooperatives have struggled to access the input in recent years.

A rice farmer, Elijah Njoroge, however, raised concerns over inadequate water supply, noting that Thiba dam does not have sufficient water to support all farmers.

He called for government intervention to address the challenges affecting irrigation and rice production.

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