The Ruiru Prison Farm Irrigation Project in Kiambu County is expected to boost agricultural production, support environmental restoration and equip more than 300 inmates with agribusiness skills, the State Department for Irrigation said.
Principal Secretary for Irrigation Ephantus Kimotho Kimani inspected the project on Friday.
The pilot initiative is being implemented jointly by the State Department for Irrigation and the Kenya Prisons Service.
The project has a contract value of Sh73 million and is designed for completion and payment in less than one year, according to the department.
It targets 100 acres of coffee across Blocks A, B and C, as well as tree seedling production and horticulture. Once fully operational, the coffee enterprise is expected to generate more than KSh20 million.
The project also includes a tree nursery with capacity to produce about 18 million seedlings annually. According to the department, the seedlings will support the Government’s 15 Billion Tree Growing Programme and have an estimated annual value of more than Sh75 million.
More than 20 acres will be used for horticultural production, with the capacity to supply fresh produce to prisons across Nairobi.
The department said this will reduce reliance on external suppliers and strengthen institutional food security.
The project will also provide agricultural training to more than 300 inmates through climate-resilient farming under irrigation.
The department said the training will give them practical agribusiness skills and experience that can be used after completing their sentences.
The irrigation infrastructure includes intake desilting works, two boreholes, two hybrid water pumping units, water storage facilities, an in-field irrigation distribution network and sprinkler systems.
The department said intake desilting, drilling of the two boreholes, installation of the hybrid pumping units and establishment of water storage facilities are all complete.
The in-field irrigation distribution network and sprinkler system is 80 per cent complete.
Ongoing works include installing sprinkler systems in the two remaining blocks and extending irrigation infrastructure to the Greening Kenya section.
The project is expected to benefit more than 10,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries, according to the department.
It is also intended to provide a model for expanding irrigation through partnerships with other government institutions.
The department said the project demonstrates how irrigation can support food production, institutional self-sufficiency, environmental restoration, skills development and economic empowerment.
Kimani was hosted during the inspection by Resident Engineer Agnes Agong and Director of Prison Farms Patrick Kariri, among other senior government officials.
