20,000 Nyeri families to benefit from irrigation projects

More than 20,000 families in five sublocations in the arid and semi-arid Kieni East in Nyeri county, are set to benefit from water for domestic and irrigation use.

Agriculture CS Peter Munya during the groundbreaking for the Aguthi-Ndiriti Irrigation Scheme on Saturday said the projects are being financed by the government and a loan from the African Development Bank.

The Ndiriti-Aguthi Irrigation Scheme alone will cost Sh258 million and will be implemented by the Small Scale Irrigation and Value Addition Project (SIVAP).

“The main purpose of the project is largely to reduce poverty and food insecurity among the rural poor households by improving the performance of irrigation, marketing infrastructure as well as enhancing methods of post-harvest management of farm produce,” Munya said.

The project, which will be done on 222 hectares (about 548 acres), will benefit  1,370 residents. It is expected to increase household incomes for smallholder producers.

Munya told the contractor to complete the project in 18 months.

Kieni MP Kanini Kega said the scheme will create income streams through the sale of surplus food and fight food insecurity for residents who have most of the time been relying on relief food.

The MP said one of the major challenges facing Kieni is water.