First Thiba Dam Water Rice Crop To Be Harvested Next Month

Mwea rice farmers are now expecting to harvest the first rice crop irrigated using water from Thiba Dam in mid-November. According to Mwea Irrigation Scheme manager Innocent Ariemba, rice production from the scheme will increase to 140,000 metric tonnes this year compared to 114,000 metric tonnes last year.

Thiba dam, which is 1 kilometer long and 40 meters deep is filled with 15.6 million cubic meters of water that will help in boosting irrigation in the region, where rice farming is mostly done. According to Aremba, the dam is currently flowing at 1.5 meters per second against a water requirement of 9.8 meters per second. It will boost rice production in the region at a time when the country is experiencing severe drought.

“Were it not for Thiba Dam, farmers would October have lost more than 20,000 acres of their yield. Unlike other years when the short rains begin in mid-, this year we are yet to receive the rains. However, we remain optimistic that the rains will fall soon,” Ariemba said.

With the expansion of canals across the scheme, the area under rice cultivation increased from 25,000 acres to 30,600 acres, with the number of farmers expected to increase from 11,200 to 14,000. The crop is currently at the flowering stage.

Rice is Kenya’s second most consumed food after maize. The country is however unable to produce enough rice for domestic consumption, relying on imports to bridge the deficit. Only 35 percent of what is consumed is locally produced with the rest imported mainly from Pakistan. Kenyans consume 1.2 million metric tonnes of rice against an annual production of 240,000 metric tonnes.

Most of this rice is sourced from the Mwea irrigation scheme which accounts for 80 percent of Kenya’s rice, playing a major role in the nationwide supply of grain. The total annual rice production in the scheme is estimated at 113,000 metric tons, with a potential for enhanced production.