Furrow irrigation scheme in river-dense area of Kenya

The Italian Government through Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) has spent Sh155 million ($2.3 million) to fund furrow irrigation farming at Wei Wei area in the West Pokot district of Kenya.

The KVDA chairman Joshau Leparashau said the irrigation scheme is used to practice irrigation farming for cash crop and subsistence farming among the local community. He said crops grown in the area under irrigation include maize, beans, sunflower and enhanced millet, which go along way in promoting food security in the area. The official was speaking to farmers contracted to the parastatal who practice furrow-irrigation farming, using expertise learned from the KVDA agricultural extension officers.

Leparashau said the organization had picked on Wei Wei as the area has many seasonal and permanent rivers whose water could be used for irrigation farming in the area. "KVDA started furrow irrigation farming in 1982 and sprinkler irrigation in 1984 to assist arable farming in this semi-arid land that is otherwise predominantly known for livestock farming," he said. He said the Wei Wei area has an altitude of 960 metres above sea level in an area that conveys water by gravity from the mountains on a twenty 24 hour basis to 225 families under the Weiwei scheme.

The Pokot families, he said, have at the same time set aside 225 hectares to plant subsistence crops under modern farming technology to improve their economic level.

He said the Weiwei project phase 1 and phase 2 had been funded by the Italian government. He said Italy plans to spend Sh800 million ($12 million) for the third phase of the irrigation scheme on 265 hectares on which are about 200 families.

Leparashau said the irrigation scheme generates over Sh400 million yearly from crops grown by the corporation and that most of the crops have a ready market.

Kenya Times