IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN KENYA

1. IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN KENYA BY DIRECTOR KARI THE NATIONAL IRRIGATION BOARD (NIB) ANNUAL WORKSHOP FOR PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS AND PROPOSALS

2. Introduction • Total Land area is 58.26 million hectares • Arable area – 11.65 million hectares • Population estimated at 42 million and increasing • Over 80% arid or semi-arid • Agriculture is the main stay of country’s economy • Irrigable soils are 13million ha (more than the arable areas) • Irrigation potential is estimated to be 1.3million ha (with conservation of catchments, water harvesting and storage, efficient irrigation systems and practices, etc) otherwise it would be limited to 540,000 ha. • There is on-going re-arrangements of the institutions involved in irrigation research and development, soil/water/crop/livestock management and research (The Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Authority Bill 2012; The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Bill 2012)

3. Historical Background of Irrigation in Kenya • Small scale irrigation practices have been ongoing in some areas in Kenya for the past 400 years • Large scale irrigation schemes have also been in existence from the time of the colonial era • Farmers were forced to work in the large irrigation schemes during World War II • Farmers had no say on management of the schemes or benefit from the produce

4. Background cont. • Smallholder schemes are variable farm sizes • Operated by water user groups or by farmers’ organizations within the scheme • Produce used to meet subsistence demands as well as for domestic and export markets • At present there are approximately 2,500 such irrigation schemes • Covers an area of about 47,000 hectares, a figure that accounts for 46 percent of the total area under irrigation in Kenya • Approximately 47 percent of the active population in irrigated agriculture works in these schemes.

5. Background Cont. • Large-scale schemes NIB-managed (NIB schemes) • These schemes range from several hundred to several thousand hectares in size that produce for domestic and export markets • National Irrigation Board (NIB) is responsible for their management and further development • About 90 percent of Kenya’s rice is produced from NIB schemes • Commercial flower and vegetable farms are schemes with modernized irrigation facilities

6. Kenya's large-scale irrigation schemes • Bura Irrigation Scheme - Situated in the coastal region, this scheme started in the late 1970s • HolaIrrigation Scheme - This scheme, also in the coast region, • AheroIrrigation Scheme - This project was initiated in western Kenya in 1966 for rice farming • PerkeraIrrigation Scheme - This project began in 1952 in Kenya's Rift Valley Province • Mwea Irrigation Scheme Construction began in 1956 with prisoners’ workforce • Galana about 400,000 ha recently identified as suitable for irrigation development

7. Distribution of Irrigation schemes in Kenya

8. Constraints to Irrigation Development in Kenya • Inadequate funding for irrigation investments • Low capacity and participation of private sector in irrigation development • Low level of irrigation skills of the farmers • Low production and inefficient marketing systems • Inadequate institutional capacity at national level with respect to planning • Implementation and sustainable management of irrigation development • Inadequate capacity of institutions to handle irrigation investments, implementation and sustainable management

9. Farmer training on irrigation system maintenance and operation – need for continuous capacity building of irrigators

10. Research, training and extension is key to successful irrigation farming

11. Constraints cont • Low agricultural water use efficiency • Ineffective and inefficient control of irrigation water • Lack of legal and regulatory framework for irrigation development • Lack of proper agricultural land use and management plans • Inadequate irrigation production support services that is supported by research and technical innovation

12. Basin irrigation on Banana – This can be improved

13. Furrow irrigation – can be improved

14. Constraints cont • Inadequate farm power for various farm operations • Inadequate data base for irrigation development • Inadequate attention to drainage • Inadequate storage of water for irrigation • Competing demand for water with other users such as hydropower, domestic use, livestock and wildlife • Changes in river flow patterns as a result of catchment degradation and climatic changes

15. Improved furrow irrigation

16. Improved water delivery system

17. A pivot irrigation system as example of improved mechanized farming system

18. Efficient irrigation technologies such as drip irrigation, mulching, etc. can enhance productivity of water

19. Rain harvested and stored for fish farming and greenhouse farming 19

20. Irrigation challenges • Poor farmer management of irrigation schemes • Water logging • Declining soil fertility and soil erosion • Declining in water quality • Growing water scarcity • Declining in biodiversity • Land degradation and climate change with negative impacts on irrigation

21. Land degradation in catchments is among threats to irrigated farming

22. Why Low Performance • Absence of irrigation policy • Absence of vital irrigation data for planning purposes • Poor planning of irrigation projects, particularly smallholder traditional irrigation schemes • Inadequate soil, water and crop management data for irrigated systems • Inadequate resources on the part of the government, e.g. funds and trained irrigation personnel • Absence of national irrigation investment criteria • Inadequate national coordination for irrigation developments • Few well trained manpower and a big component of foreign exchange • Non exploitation of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in Irrigation development and management

23. Impacts of irrigation in the country • Poverty-reduction • Improve on food security • Improve income generation • Health • Social conflicts associated with irrigation

24. Poverty-reduction impacts of irrigation

25. Vegetable production in Turkwell irrigation scheme

26. Conclusion • Irrigation suitable and effective instrument to fight poverty • Farmers should be capacity build to take responsibility in maintaining the structures • Governmental institutions to coordinate good water governance • All existing organizational irrigation are contributing to poverty reduction e.g. schemes under NIB • Challenges for each scheme should be addressed to ensure their success in the long run • Major concerns of smallholder schemes are the improvement of marketing conditions and a better access to credits • This calls for special lines of credit and the creation of marketing cooperatives • The crucial factors for NIB schemes would include the consistent implementation of the present reform plans

27. Conclusion cont. • Assigning (provisional) land-use rights and training for farmers important • Irrigation is more and more threatened by serious environmental problems some of these are caused by irrigation Examples High water abstractions and unsustainable agricultural practices Mismanagement in general such as deforestation and inappropriate land use practices

28. Wayforward • Finally, we must embrace Public Private Partnership • Develop irrigation policy urgently

29. Thank You