Counties
Government’s Sh 65M Rice Miller to Boost Production in the Lake Region
The Kenyan government is in high gear to install a rice milling machine worth Kshs 65 million in Kisumu. The miller will be a major boost for rice production in the region in terms of efficiency for farmers.
The project by the National Government will see the modern machine being installed in Kibos and will serve farmers from Ahero from Kisumu County, Nyatike from Migori county, and even Bunyala from Busia County, who have for so long lagged behind in production and counted losses over the lack of a proper milling machine.
According to the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) chairman, Owidi Odoyo, the machine was ordered from India in 2019, but the delivery was delayed because of the COVID 19 pandemic.
“We finally have it and it is being installed at LBDA Kibos rice mill complex where it will serve thousands of farmers,” Owidi explained.
The LBDA chairman also noted that the machine has the capacity to mill 3.5 tonnes of paddy rice per hour.
“We should be starting the milling by December. Due to its inefficiency, the authority was not able to take up the bulk of the rice from the region for processing. With the new machine, the authority plans to collect 24,000 tonnes of paddy for milling annually,” Mr. Owidi said.
He also expressed great confidence in LBDA attaining maximum quantity, processing, and selling rice locally in order to promote rice farming in the region.
LBDA’s premise has an old mill which was bought 30 years ago. Kisumu county government also intends to install a Ksh 33 million mill to boost processing from last year.
