In Kenya, an irrigation project will be completed by the end of 2021 in Murang'a County. The county government is implementing the project under the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (Narigp), funded by the World Bank.
Farmers in Murang’a are expected to improve their farming practices through a new irrigation system. The information comes from the county government in west-central Kenya. With this new system, 457 households will receive water on a regular basis for domestic use and for farming. This will help to improve agricultural yields, which are currently declining due to drought. In Murang’a, the main cash crop is bananas.
The Murang’a County Government is implementing the irrigation project under the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (Narigp). For the future irrigation system in Murang’a, water will be pumped from the Maragua River through 14 kilometres of pipelines to the various farmers’ households. According to John Waihenya, the coordinator of the World Bank-funded Narigp project, each household will be provided with a 100 m3 tank to store excess water for use over a three-month period.
An investment of $976,000
“The ponds will also have a dam lining that will increase agricultural yields and create livelihoods. Households will be supplied with water in all seasons,” says John Waihenya, the Narigp project coordinator. The irrigation project in Murang’a will eventually cost more than 107 million Kenyan shillings (about US$976,000).
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As part of the irrigation project, farmers were also trained to be more efficient in the field. “The farmers’ representatives visited the Mutunguru irrigation system in Meru for comparative analysis,” says John Waihenya.
Inès Magoum
