How Engineering Student Found Breakthrough in Rice Farming

Undated file image of farmers plucking through a rice plantation in Mwea, Kirinyaga
Undated file image of farmers plucking through a rice plantation in Mwea, Kirinyaga
Kenyans.co.ke

With the prevailing high rate of unemployment in the country, many Kenyans look for alternative ways of earning a living.

It is with this that a 29-year-old, Alex Muthee, a computer engineering student at Kenyatta University opted to join rice farming in Mwea, Kirinyaga County. Muthee also doubles up as a Disc Jockey (DJ) having completed his studies.

During an interview with a local TV station, on Sunday, October 17, Muthee revealed that many youth farmers in Mwea are making a decent living from rice farming adding that there are numerous job opportunities in the area.

File image of Kenyan banknotes held in a hand on January 25, 2020.
File image of Kenyan banknotes held in a hand on January 25, 2020.
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He added that he developed a passion for farming and that he has resisted other job opportunities because of the money he earns from his one-acre farm.

"I did not drop out, it is just that I am passionate about farming. Although many students have dropped out because in Mwea the youth make a lot of money,

"On a good year of harvesting, I make Ksh500,000 a year and on a bad day I can get 30 bags of rice which goes for Ksh6,000 per bag," he revealed.

The 29-year-old further revealed that so many of his fellow youth in the area opted to quit school so as to be employed in the farms, adding that scare craws make a lot of money.

"There is a lot of money right now, just chasing birds earns you Ksh350 and the owner also gives you lunch," Muthee stated.

The engineering student, also revealed that it takes time to work on rice farms, stating that the youth have used it as an opportunity to earn more money.

“To tend to a one-acre farm takes quite some time. Like this one, it takes you one month to fully prepare the field for farming,” the 29-year-old stated. 

However, he noted that birds in the area have been causing havoc in recent years, making their profits go down.

"These birds can even block the road. When they pass here you may think it is at night because they block the sunlight. We are only happy when the rain comes because that is when they disappear."

"Last year birds ate everything from my farm and when they come you just have to accept the situation," he disclosed.

The white stock bird being held up by villagers after it was electrocuted in Kitale
The white stock bird being held up by villagers after it was electrocuted in Kitale on March 22, 2021.
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Richard Mwenja