**6.3 Germplasm production and distribution**

To discourage farmers from using low yielding long durational lines, lines development should be specified based on agro-ecological zones though seed multiplication should be in areas that experience low abiotic stresses. Researchers should develop breeder and foundation seed that is maintained by research institutions. Scientist certified seed should be reproduced by seed merchants who should in turn sell it to seed stockiest in rice growing areas as per projected requirements to ensure they are easily accessed by farmers. This should be followed by massive sensitization of extension officers and farmers on the new lines in the market [25].

#### **6.4 Credit support and marketing**

Organize farmers into cooperative societies and common interest groups. This makes it easier to market their rice and access credit facilities. State funded credit agencies e.g., Agricultural Finance Cooperation (AFC) should be encouraged to lend to farmers.

#### **6.5 Infrastructural development**

Construction of modern mills will promote rainfed rice farming. Improving roads, construction of health facilities to provide health services to curb water-borne diseases are other infrastructural improvement that could promote rice farming. Furthermore, both national and County governments must provide incentives and formulate policies that encourages private sector partnerships. Temperature regulated bulk seed storage facilities should also be built. Fully equipped soil analysis laboratories as well as rice harvesting machines be made available to farmers.

Improving rice mills also contributes to improved income by offering employment. These mills support food security, and increase competition that will bring down milling costs to farmers [31]. There is need to put in efforts to modernize and improve rice milling subsector. Efforts should be put in place to promote setting up of mult-pass rice mills with recovery rate of about 70% of un-husked rice compared to single pass mills with recovery rate of about 57%. In addition to that, mult-pass mills have a lower split rice percentage of about 14% compared to 27% in single pass mills. To support farmers in this situations, possible approaches to be employed include; supplying multi-stage rice mills to farmers co-operatives societies, using rural social entrepreneur to supply rural mills, assisting millers and farmers to set up out grower agreements and developing models to upgrade central and decentralized local milling technologies [31, 32].

The government should commission studies on inventories on post-harvest facilities for rice, losses assessment and information gathering that supports government planning and other stake holder's intervention to the sub-sector. Better storage facilities need to be developed and promoted, to support the milling section further the government and county governments should promote technological knowhow on agronomic applications and post-harvest technologies that entails agricultural processing to reduce losses.

Furthermore, a need also arises to utilize other energy and drying technologies like solar drying systems and hybrid's systems that use both rice straws and solar, collapsible dryers, portable thermal dryers and other renewable energy technologies. This will greatly reduce post-harvest losses. Another way of pushing profits margin up for farmers is utilizing rice by-products mostly husks that make up to about 20% of paddy in animal feeds production, bio-fertilizers and briquettes [31].

#### **6.6 Improving farmers skills and technological know-how**

Researchers' farmers and extension officers should be trained on modern rice production techniques and utilization. Setting up new training institutions and

*Rainfed Rice Farming Production Constrains and Prospects, the Kenyan Situation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98389*

revitalizing existing ones to undertake capacity building in rice specific courses. Extension officers be posted to rice growing areas to improve quality inspection and its enforcement. Fully functional research and extension infrastructure should be set up to promote development, packaging, and timely disseminating of appropriate technology to extension officers, farmers organizations and other stakeholders. Farmers-extension-research linkages should also be improved and strengthened.
