Rain curse to rice farmers in Kano as birds clean out harvests

Ms Gaudencia Ondiek picks seeds left over after harvesting rice at her farm in Kano plains, Kisumu County, on October 18 last year. Farmers are struggling with challenges ranging from poor market prices to flooding. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Nyando MP Jared Okello says the only solution for the residents is to relocate to other regions.
  • For the better part of this year, the spike in seasonal rainfall caused flooding in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia.
  • As a lowland, it is tucked in between the Nandi escarpment and the Nyabondo Plateau.

Late last year, when Kenya’s second largest paddy rice belt was marking its 50th anniversary, the horror of floods and destruction returned to the Kano plains.

Residents here know the drill in what is turning out to be an annual ritual. Either they are struggling with poor market prices for their rice produce, or they are fighting to survive the raging floods.

For the better part of this year, the spike in seasonal rainfall caused flooding in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. A 50-year-old man was swept away by floods while students from four public schools — Ogenya, Kandaria and Ombaka primary and Kandaria secondary — were evacuated.

In the abandoned villages, paddy fields that had been steeped under stagnant water became playing grounds for swarms of destructive quelea, migratory sparrow-like birds that move in flocks, causing extensive damage to cereals.

KNEE-HIGH WATER

As the rains pounded, houses were submerged. Images of farmers and their children wading through knee-high water going to seek refuge at a nearby public school caught the eyes of many.

But Kano is a geographical disaster. As a lowland, it is tucked in between the Nandi escarpment and the Nyabondo Plateau. Flash floods are common. In 1966, the government commissioned a rice irrigation scheme to mitigate the floods.

The Ahero irrigation scheme became operational in 1969 and sits on 4,000 acres of rolling plain in Kano. Its black cotton soil, gentle topography and readily available water from Nyando River boosted rice farming.

But all is not well in the plains. Nyando MP Jared Okello says the only solution for the residents is to relocate to other regions.

“Our people should know that the lake is reclaiming itself and we should embrace the idea of relocating,” he said.

Last month, Mr Okello and Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa led the distribution of relief food where a lasting solution for the perennial menace was promised.

Former Nyando MP Fred Outa dug canals and opened up ways for water to flow into the lake.

“The county government should look for ways to open up more canals,” said Mr Outa.

There has also been a proposal to build a dyke near the lake, like the one in Budalang’i, to prevent back-flow of water into the villages. In mid-2000, the government constructed dykes around Nyando and Awach rivers to contain overflowing water but over the years, they were swept away by the rains.

HARVESTS DWINDLED

While Kabonyo Kanyagwal ward MCA Pete Oiko feels there is political goodwill in tackling the floods, he says it needs a lot of resources, which can’t be provided by the county government.
Besides the flooding, rice harvests have dwindled.

Farmers have been recycling the same rice seeds for the last 50 years. Over-reliance on inferior seeds mean the produce is not competitive in the market.

Supported by small irrigation schemes in West Kano, South West Kano and Ahero, the region accounts for 16.5 per cent of the total rice produced in the country.

Despite its potential, it comes a distant second to Mwea irrigation scheme, which produces 89.9 per cent of the country’s rice.
Unlike Mwea in Kirinyaga County with a vibrant farmers’ cooperative union that makes its rice value chain to thrive, Ahero is poorly managed.

Moreover, the scheme is also under-funded. The annual subsidy to Mwea for over the last five years is Sh6 billion while Ahero’s is Sh1 billion.

West Kano Irrigation Scheme chairman George Okaka says farmers grow IR rice varieties with only less than 5 per cent growing the aromatic Basmati, which has a high demand. But farmers in Kano avoid it because its aroma attracts quelea birds.

“If you grow Basmati, quelea will invade your farm,” one farmer said. Dozens of farmers have also began switching to horticultural crops such as watermelons, tomatoes and kales to boost their earnings.

“The cost of rice production is too high compared to the returns, therefore many land owners lease their plots,” said Mr Okaka.

READY MARKET

Mr Willis Oketch, who has been growing the grain for the last 20 years on a four-acre plot, says one needs to make furrows with 50 cm high walls around the field.

A canal of about 30 centimetre width is then left between one plot and the next to allow water to flow.

“Before you get water, one has to pay a fee of Sh15,000 to the National Irrigation Board. But paying for the water often doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get it,” he says.

At the time of the scheme’s establishment in the 60s, irrigation technologies weren’t as advanced as they are today, therefore the authorities opted for a basin irrigation system. Yet to date, hundreds of farmers are still using the same traditional irrigation technique.

Last season, Mr Oketch harvested about 134 bags of 50-kg bags compared to 110 bags from the previous season. But even after the bumper harvest, Mr Oketch and dozens of other farmers could not find a ready market for their produce.