Even though Kenya’s landmass hasn’t changed, the government has taken steps to increase irrigation infrastructure around the nation as part of a larger plan to provide food security for the country’s expanding population.
Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mutahi Kagwe stated at the opening of the Sh 79 million rehabilitation of the Ndigiria Water Pan in Bamba, Kilifi County, that the project is anticipated to revolutionize food production in the semi-arid region as part of a larger government strategy to ensure food security for the nation’s expanding population.
According to the CS, the nation can no longer afford to allow significant amounts of runoff to disappear during the rainy season, only for people to experience food insecurity and water shortages months later.
According to him, the government’s plan is to collect runoff from seasonal rivers, build more water pans and dams, and responsibly draw groundwater from deep boreholes before using it for farming.
The Ndigiria Water Pan, which was built in 1963, is undergoing restoration in order to assist a 50-acre smallholder irrigation project and regain its capacity to hold water.
Over 100 farmers will directly profit from the project, which will also reach an estimated 4,026 indirect beneficiaries and supply water to roughly 15,398 cattle.
Desilting and stabilizing the pan, fencing, an intake structure, pumping units, distribution pipelines, balancing tanks, solar power systems, and farm irrigation infrastructure are among the projects carried out under the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP).
In order to improve farmers’ access to credit, CS Kagwe gave eight local SACCOs Sh 30,512,579 as part of the project’s financial empowerment component.
