Scaling high-yield rice variety in Kenya: Placing farmer cooperatives at the helm

by Shilomboleni, Helena; Murori, Rosemary; Njau, Simon; Musila, Ruth; Panchbhai, Ajay; Menge, Daniel; Ismail, Abdelbhagi; and Connor, Melanie

Key messages:

• A high-yielding, moderately climate-resilient rice variety, Komboka (IR05N221), meaning “to ‘liberate”, was introduced in Kenya in 2013.
• Despite favorable traits such as a higher number of tillers, uniform crop stand, higher yield and disease resistance, the adoption of Komboka was slow and it remained unknown for six years since its release.
• In 2020, the Mwea Rice Growers Multipurpose Cooperative Society (MRGM) became a local champion for Komboka, working with the technology’s developers and local partners to support its dissemination and create awareness among Kenyan rice farmers.
• These efforts helped to stimulate the rapid uptake of Komboka when rice farmers started recognizing its high yield, good eating quality, and high ratooning ability, as well as its contribution to food and income security.
• Achieving the long-term sustainability of a promising innovation requires meaningful collaboration with key local partners and product managers from the start as well as a rigorous preference assessment of farmers, processors, and consumers to inform breeding programs.

There is a burgeoning demand for rice across Africa, driven largely by changing food habits, urbanization, and population growth. This is putting economic pressure on governments as they pay for rice imports (Ibrahim, et al. 2021; Futakuchi, et al. 2021). To close the widening gap between the rising consumption demand and the current production across Africa, 32 countries with agro-climatic conditions suited for rice production have implemented national rice development strategies as part of a continent-wide initiative by the Coalition for African Rice Development.