Economics of the System of Rice Intensification on Productivity of Rice among Smallholder Farmers of Mwea Irrigation Scheme, Kenya

Abstract

Rice farming has received considerable attention in developing countries and particularly in Kenya due to its impact on smallholders’ income and food security. Irrigated rice is the largest consumer of water and its sustainability is threatened by water shortage. This has necessitated the development of alternative irrigation water systems that use less water with high yields such as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). This study sought to evaluate the effects of (SRI) on farm level rice productivity in Mwea Irrigation Scheme. The specific objectives were: to evaluate the determinants of SRI adoption, to determine the factors that influence rice productivity under SRI and Conventional Flooding (CF) and to compare the profitability of SRI and CF. Stratified sampling was used to obtain 364 smallholder rice farmers. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to these farmers to collect primary data. The results showed that age, farm size, household size, distance from the canal, education, access to credit services, access to extension services, and years spent in rice farming positively and significantly influenced the adoption of SRI. Further, household size, involvement in off-farm work, farmer experience, distance from the canal, access to extension services, credit access and labor use significantly affects rice productivity. The findings further revealed that the returns of SRI were higher by 41,770 compared to CF although it was more labour intensive during critical periods of field operations. The study recommends that the government and other stakeholders should devise strategies to promote adoption of SRI to increase productivity of the rice crop and hence food security locally and nationally. Additionally, the rice farmers to be encouraged by extension service providers to concentrate on formal training, participation in farmers field schools, implementing better farming technology (e.g. SRI) and adoption of appropriate water conservation practices for enhanced productivity. Finally based on the unique circumstances of the farmers, the stakeholders should strive to promote adoption of SRI over CF to improve returns from rice