Operational and Financial Analysis of Smallholder Rice Farming in Kisumu, Kenya

Access to information about Kenyan rice farming operations and financials was lacking in the research community. This paper was created to provide a concise and accurate description of the average operations timeline and financial projections for a smallholder Kenyan rice farm on an irrigation scheme in Kisumu County, Kenya. A survey campaign that reached 300 farmers, a co-design event that reached 35 farmers, and in-person interviews were coordinated and conducted by the research team. A timeline for planting and harvesting rice was created. The operational cycle completed each growing season was concluded. The range of costs for each part of the farming cycle was determined. Changes in weather or economy were found to easily affect revenue for farmers. The risk farmers take each season when planting rice was clearly demonstrated by comparing expected expenses to predicted revenues. The average range of fluctuating seasonal profit per farmer per two acres per season between 127,760 Ksh ($930.32) and 285,760 Ksh ($1,885.46) was found. There is little financial gain from farming rice, despite it being considered a staple food and cash crop. In order to grow the production of rice in Kenya to meet the consumption demand, a change to mitigate the financial harm to farmers needs to be made. Presented in this paper is information about financials and operations, along with pain points identified while collecting the data, to inform future research and grant further access to information about the Kenyan smallholder rice farming industry.