RICE IRRIGATION PLANS

RICE IRRIGATION PLANS

During a recent speech by Ruto, he pledged to construct 100 mega dams and other many mini-dams so as to irrigate more land and increase its food supply. This will make a total of 3 million acres irrigable land. Public Private Partnerships are set to be initiated through legislation so as to actualize the construction of the dams.

Among the 3 million acres, 200,000 acres will be used for rice productionstar.co.ke These rice production areas will be prioritized. They include;

·         Ahero in Kisumu County

·         Rahona in Garissa County

·         Bunyala in Busia County

·         Mwea in Kirinyaga County

·         Bura and the Tana River Irrigation schemes in Tana River County

·         Taita taveta

·          Lower Kuja Irrigation Scheme in Migori

·         Pekerra Irrigation Scheme in Baringo

·         Turkana

·          Galana Kulalu Irrigation System in Kilifi

Ahero Irrigation Scheme in Kisumu .
A section of South Kano paddy rice irrigation project. Photo from skyfm.com






The scheme which gets its water from the River Nyando .The main crop done is rice, a further increase in the acreage has been proposed to increase the production from 22000 metric tones to 29000 annually . The project which is being facilitated by the government of Kenya and Japan through a body, JAICA will contribute to more employment opportunities in the Lakeside region and also increase the food security . This will increase the size of the scheme from 7878 acres to 10,378cres .

 

Rahona in Garissa. 

The huge potential that lies in the North Eastern will start being exploited through investment in the regions. The adoption of irrigation projects can help in  improvement of food security both in the region and the country .

 

Bunyala Irrigation Scheme in Busia

This irrigation scheme has been existing since 1959 but has been increasing  in acreage for the past years from the initial 534 acres to 2454 acres which are under rice . The area has a potential of doing 10000 acres under irrigation .The government has been increasing the acreage under irrigation and commits to increasingly to do so until the wholesome potential is realized .

Mwea in Kirinyaga County

This project has been increased by the construction and commissioning of the Thiba dam. The construction will increase the acreage on rice to 10000 acres more. The County Government shall also increase the efficiency off the existing project trough removal of silt and increasing the water supply.

This will allow farmers to do two seasons of rice production hence an increase of production from 100000 tons to 200000 tones annually

Bura and the Tana River Irrigation Scheme.

Both irrigation schemes mainly grow maize as the main crop. However, the project has a potential to produce more crops including rice . Currently only 850 acres are under rice irrigation in the Tana River Irrigation scheme yet there exist a potential to increase the scheme by an additional 12,000 acres

The expansion of this project serves a great initiative to increase production of rice and other crops in order to fight the frequent famine experienced in the region.

Taita Taveta

Lying at the extreme south east of Kenya, Taita Taveta county has rich agricultural potential that is untapped due to lack of irrigation water.

Lake Chala has the potential to allow for irrigation, however these has never been actualized. The Kimogorio Irrigation scheme is among the project proposed to solve the issue of food insecurity in the region.

Lower Kuja irrigation scheme in Migori

Located in Migori and served by the Kuja river the project has been proposed to be upgraded and renovate existing infrastructure so as to increase the rice production

Perkerra irrigation Scheme

Located in Marigat ,Baringo County and is served by the Perkerra River .The scheme was started in the 1950s and mainly involved in maize seed production . The extra irrigable land can allow for extra maize crop and other crops such as rice.

Turkana Irrigation project

The Lake Turkana and the Turkwell River have great potential in making the marginalized lands of Turkana to change to a food basket for Kenya. In appreciation of this the government has proposed to set up an irrigation scheme so as to increase the production of rice and other crops.

Galana Kulalu Irrigation scheme

This project was to be completed by 2022 but this development was hindered by embezzlement of funds meant for the project.

The project lies in Kilifi and Tana River counties. The project is set to majorly produce crops cotton and maize for the production of animal feeds which have had a high pricing in the recent years.

The project will also accommodate rice hence increasing the countries rice production and reduce its rice imports.

Benefits of the Irrigation Projects

Irrigation projects are the future for agriculture as climate change effects are becoming more conspicuous making rain-fed agriculture become more unsustainable. The ripple effects of successful irrigation project will be increased food security, improved livelihoods and increased industrialization creating more jobs 

These projects will have a great positive impact on economic development, address the food insecurity issue and create livelihoods for many Kenyans.

Also readhttps://politics-breakingnews.blogspot.com/2022/10/rutos-mega-plan-on-housing.html

 

 

 


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