Irrigate for food security

There has never been doubt that irrigation is a major part of the solution to the perennial food shortage crisis due to the increasingly unpredictable rainfall that hampers farming. The authorities and the people know what need to be done and yet the problem persists.

However, the mention of irrigation naturally brings to mind the failed mega ventures in the Tana River Delta that have gobbled up billions of shillings over the years. For instance, the stalling of the Sh7.3 billion Galana-Kulalu irrigation project remains a major setback in the fight against food insecurity. It is the biggest initiative in Kilifi and Tana River counties and an ambitious scheme to boost maize yields.

It is the realisation that rain-fed agriculture is not possible in the vast tracts of land at the coast and in the arid and semi-arid north that the government has tried to promote irrigation. There is a vast potential in the huge semi-arid Turkana County that, if harnessed, could boost food supply for the nation.

Unfortunately, a drip irrigation scheme that was billed as pivotal in the fight against hunger collapsed six years ago and, today, more than 600,000 people are in dire need of relief food. It was an initiative of the Kenya Red Cross Society and an associate organisation. Several other schemes established in 2011 have also gone down after gobbling up millions of shillings.

The transformation of Kenya into a middle-income nation will remain a dream if the people are not provided with reliable, affordable and nutritious food. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 14.5 million Kenyans still face food and nutrition insecurity every year and 2.6 million are severely affected by the shortages.

The spectacular failure of the mega national irrigation schemes and some smaller ones is food for thought. There is, perhaps, a need to come up with manageable, tailor-made community projects with support from the government, donors and international agencies.