Kenya moves to slash rice imports with certified seed production

Published 2024년 7월 19일

Tridge summary

Kenya is taking steps to reduce its rice imports by partnering with the Korea Partnership for Innovative Agriculture (KOPIA) to establish a sustainable certified seed production system, aimed at addressing the country's 80 percent rice production deficit. This five-year collaboration with KALRO will focus on producing early-generation seed, multiplying elite varieties, and their distribution to farmers, with an expected production of 5.8 tonnes of early-generation seed and 1,000 tonnes of certified Generation 1 seeds. The project will also provide training and introduce new rice varieties, as well as address mechanisation challenges in the rice industry.

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Original content

Kenya is implementing measures to cut rice imports with the development of sustainable certified seed production system. The country's research body-Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) is pioneering the efforts in partnership with a Korean agency, which will ensure Kenya, which ships in up to 75 percent of the total rice requirement annually, cuts reliance on imports. In a five-year collaboration with the Korea Partnership for Innovative Agriculture (KOPIA), the project will focus on the production of early-generation seed, the multiplication of elite varieties, and distribution to farmers. The project will produce 5.8 tonnes of early-generation seed and 1,000 tonnes of certified Generation 1 seeds of high-yielding, climate-resilient varieties. Additionally, it will train 75 local technical experts, 10 experts in South Korea, and 210 farmers in quality rice seed production. Speaking at the project launch in Mwea, KALRO Director General Eliud Kireger said ...

Source: All Africa