Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) plans to contract rice farmers to produce certified rice seed.
The Authority's acting managing director Dr Evans Atera said the seed fields that smallholder farmers depend on are rarely certified.
Atera said farmers often suffer from low rice yields due to the shortage of high-quality seed.
“We must develop certified seeds that can withstand pest, drought and other calamities. We intend to use our farmers to produce these seeds then sell to other farmers for proper yields,” he said.
He said the contracted farmers will be charged with the responsibility of producing certified seeds that are adaptable to the region.
Speaking on Friday during a rice farmers’ forum at the Kibos Rice Mills in Kisumu, Atera said rice farmers must be educated to embrace rice value chain.
He said local rice producers are only benefiting to a limited extent.
He announced that LBDA will organise such forums within their areas of jurisdiction to create awareness among farmers on value chain.
Atera said there is limited use of equipment and cultivation techniques among farmers leading to poor harvest.
LBDA chairman Raphael Tuju said that like in every sector, rice farming is also facing a myriad of challenges.
Tuju said farmers have been exposed to a lot of risk in the farming process.
“It is time LBDA comes in to assist farmers so that they minimise some of the loses they incur in farming,” said Tuju.