As the golden sun slowly sinks into the horizon, casting a mesmerising spell over the lush plains, swarms of weaver birds flap to their nests to await a brighter tomorrow.
But just before the last rays of the sun are swallowed by the fast approaching darkness, 70-year-old Samuel Kathioni resignedly slips into his battered gumboots.
He beats his frayed cap on his jembe and wades out of the black cotton mud to head home to an empty evening and a rumbling stomach yearning for food.
These are the last days of September. November is fast approaching and so are the end-year festivities. Kathioni hopes that water will ultimately flow into his dry canal and irrigate his four acres of yellowing crop of rice.
Away from the fields and into the rust covered warehouses and stores in Ngurubani, Wanguru and Mwea, hundreds of human predators are also engrossed in special payers. Their prayers are that Kathioni and 7,000 other rice farmers will reap 200,000 tonnes of premium basmati (aromatic) rice.
These prayers are being whispered in different parts of the country where the much sought after Mwea rice drives an underworld trade, which rakes in billions of shillings for importers and cereal dealers.
For decades, millions of Kenyans have been eating what they thought was Mwea’s aromatic rice and have been forking out extra shillings to avoid feeding their families on cheap imports, some of which have been said to have plastic material.
After weeks of investigations, the Saturday Standard has established that the country has been feeding on a big fat lie perpetuated by merchants whose only goal is to maximise profits at the expense of consumers and farmers.
Near Kathioni’s farm, a group of farmers is keenly listening to the man in charge of water in their line, Cadino Mubea, who explains how the precious commodity will be rationed so that every farmer gets a little.
The neighbours are contemplating their immediate future in the face of the diminished water supply at Thiba’s H2 section where 67 farmers dread losing their crop owing to scarcity of water.
Ironically, as the farmers anxiously wait for the expiry of 120 days, the duration it takes for rice to mature, some shady cereal dealers in Mwea town too have started preparing for the harvesting period in a special way.
Imported rice
“We know the importers have placed their orders in Pakistan and Thailand for shiploads of rice. By November 2 when we harvest, their stores will be full of imported rice,” explains farmer Danson Muriuki.
According to a World Bank report published in 2014, it takes dealers between 24 and 37 days to import a shipment in Kenya.
At Kathioni’s farm, there is pregnant silence when one of the farmers promises to give the names of the dealers importing rice from Pakistan to Mwea.
“Please do not name names. Do you want to be tortured the way we were brutalised during the Mau Mau? These are very powerful and rich people who can deal with you ruthlessly,” pleads another farmer, Sospeter Mwaura, 70.
When probed further, Mwaura, just like other residents, says he has heard the names of powerful billionaires being whispered in connection to spicing up Pakistani rice in Mwea using the basmati variety.
The farmers however are in agreement that Mwea town has dozens of stores that exclusively deal with imported rice, which retails at a fraction of what the local produce costs.
Huge savings
In one of the stores, the owner coaxes us to seal a deal: “My rice is first class. It is better than Mwea’s. If you have a wedding or a function, I will give you a deal of Sh2,200 for 25 kilos. This translates to Sh88 per kilo. This is a huge saving.”
It is in some of these stores and stalls where crafty traders use the aromatic Mwea rice to spice up the cheap imports, which is then retailed at a higher price, which is however still considerably cheaper than the local pure pishori rice.
The rice is transported to Mwea under the cover of darkness in sealed containers into warehouses where it is mixed with locally produced aromatic rice.
It is repackaged and branded, given fancy names which must include Mwea and pure pishori rice to dupe consumers. Innocent Ariemba, Mwea Irrigation Scheme Manager explains why basmati from the area is used by dealers for blending.
“Getting quality rice depends on where you buy it. Some traders are out to maximise on profits. It is very natural for then to use basmati, which is premium rice. A kilo of unprocessed rice (paddy) goes for Sh75. This if mixed with a kilo of ordinary rice, which retails at Sh35 per kilo, at a ratio of 1:3 gives the trader a competitive edge," Ariemba says.
The blended rice, we established, is then sold at a wholesale price of Sh125 per kilo in Mwea to traders who then retail it at Sh135.
According to experts, it takes a farmer Sh28 to produce a kilo of paddy, rice which after being dried is then sold to brokers and millers at Sh50 per kilo.
There are about 20 big millers in Mwea with a capacity to mill 3.5 tonnes of rice per hour. The big millers share 800,000 bags of rice (80 million kilos) while Mwea Rice Growers Society commands 200,000 bags (20 million kilos). The millers charge Sh3 to mill a kilo of rice and the minimum they can accept from a farmer or trader is 10 bags.
The mills also offer the small-scale traders a place and space to sell and store their rice. The big dealers purchase the paddy from farmers soon after harvest, mill it and then ferry it to their secret stores in Mwea, Kerugoya, Thika Nairobi and at times Mombasa, where it is blended and branded.
Along Mwimbi Road off Kirinyaga Road in Nairobi, a cereal dealer adjusted her aprons, cast a dirty look in our direction when we asked her about perfumed basmati rice, then said:
Chased away
“I also hear there is perfumed rice. I do not know where exactly it is done but I know it is in Nyamakima. As you can see I am strictly dealing with genuine Mwea rice. If you do not want to buy, go away or else you will chase away my customers.”
We tactfully retreated to search for the elusive perfume. Joseph Kinyanjui who works at Mwea Rice Mills says, “they even use artificial perfumes to scent Pakistani rice. There is an imported variety, which is scented and sold as basmati rice.”
Rice traders in the areas we visited operate under the golden rule of silence, feigning ignorance of the existence of the blending dens. In some cases when customers complain after the fake aroma fades, they are told the fragrance disappeared because they washed the rice too vigorously.
“This is another lie by the rice dealers. The aroma is supposed to linger even after washing and cooking. It can only fade if the rice is washed for a long time and then exposed to the sun,” Kinyanjui adds.
Rice importation, agriculture and food security experts explain, is a necessary evil in Kenya because the country produces about 200,000 tonnes while the annual consumption is 600,000 tonnes.
“We must as a country import rice every year. The question is why the government allows imports just when the farmers are harvesting their crop. Why can’t it wait for the locally produced rice to be sold out before we allow imports?” Ariemba posed.
Local brand
According to Joseph Ndungu, the Chief Executive Officer of Mwea Rice Growers Cooperative Society, the use of Mwea rice by cartels to blend their cheap imports has destroyed the local brand. “This blending distorts the market and breaks the trust of the consumer who after consuming ‘fake’ pishori feels conned.This has been going on for a long time and it is time the government acts,” Ndungu says
He says the government should demand that rice blenders indicate on their packaging the contents of their brand correctly, so that buyers know when they buy genuine and adulterated produce.
