ASSESSING THE UPTAKE OF SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION PRACTICES THROUGH AN INNOVATION PLATFORM IN OLUCH IRRIGATION SCHEME, RANGWE SUB COUNTY, KENYA

Rice is a staple food crop demanded in the global fight against hunger and may be used to
improve food and nutrition security and incomes, especially in low and middle-income
countries (Demont, 2013; Omondi et al., 2013). Globally, rice feeds over 50 percent of the
world population (Ndiiri et al., 2013a). As a cash crop, it is also considered as a strategic
commodity in economic development of producer countries (Muthayya et al., 2014; Seck et
al., 2013). Rice farming is undertaken in many parts of the world and in varied ecosystems due
to its versatility (Giraud, 2013; Omondi et al., 2013). Currently, rice is one of the most favoured
grains for human consumption globally, with only five percent used as livestock feed compared
to maize (67%) and wheat (27%) grains (Mohanty, 2013).
Rice is cultivated on approximately 162 million hectares globally, and an annual production of
over 750 million metric tons in 2019. Currently, rice is one of the major grain crops worldwide
with over 90 percent of global production and consumption within the Asia-Pacific region
(FAOSTAT, 2020). Within the next three decades, an estimated 28 percent increase in demand
for rice is anticipated globally (Alexandratos, 2012). However, the devastating impact of
climate change poses a huge threat to global rice production, with an estimated decline in rice
yields of up to 5 – 13% by 2060 (Chandio et al., 2020; Chen et al., 2020) under the present
structure of rice cropping systems and scarcity of global water resources. However, the
subsequent impact production in Africa which accounts for about 3.5% of global rice
production will be potentially substantial, about 24% decline in productivity by 2070 (van Oort
et al., 2018). Consequently, there has been renewed interest in developing technological
innovations for rice cropping systems in leading rice producing countries to meet increasing
global demand.
The growth in global rice production has been marginal in the past few decades, with several
countries like China, Thailand and Indonesia experiencing yield stagnation (Peng et al., 2009).
In 2011, the acreage under rice and yield quantities were 161 million ha and 719 million tons
respectively, which only increased to 162 million ha and 755 million tons. However, there was
substantial growth in rice production in Africa form an acreage and yield of 10.6 million ha
and 25.5 million tons respectively in 2011 to 17.1 million ha and 38.7 million tons (FAOSTAT,
2020).