A steep rise in the cost of production has pushed up rice prices by at least Sh50 since May.In Mwea, which is the main source of Kenyan rice, a kilogramme of pishori rice is currently selling at between Sh180 up from Sh150 to Sh160 in May.According to the Star, in local supermarkets, a kilo of Dawaat Basmati rice is currently selling at Sh243, Sunrise Mwea Pishori at Sh201, Pure Kenyan rice at Sh212 and Pearl Kenya Pishori at Sh249.Tim Njagi, a research fellow at the Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development and one of the lead author of the Cost of Production for Maize and Rice in Kenya report, attributed the increase of prices to the high cost of production and recent drought."The cost of labour was very high which was adding up to about 67 percent of the total cost of production. For a small scale farmer in Mwea irrigation Scheme, the total cost of production per kilo of rice was at Sh25 with labour taking up Sh18," Njagi told the Star on Tuesday.According to the National Irrigation Board, rice production in Mwea dropped by 40 percent from 830,000 bags to 498,000 bags in the season ending March. This has in turn seen rice imports increase from Sh6.6 billion to about Sh16 billion this year and an increase in volumes of 353,082 metric tonnes from 261,819 metric tonnes.Kevin Onyango from Tegemeo Institute said that the stock of rice as of 31st July was 5,182 bags with farmers, 621,368  with traders while the National Cereals and Produce Board had zero.The government through the National Irrigation Board plans to construct Thiba Dam in Mwea at a cost of Sh16 billion to create a reservoir in order to address the problem of rice shortage and influx of prices as a result.Photo/Farmers work in rice fields. The increase of rice prices have been attributed to the high cost of production and recent drought. [farmbizafrica.com]

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