NIA embracing modern technology in irrigation

Unless Kenyan farmers and other players embrace modern technology in irrigation, the quest to be food secure by the year 2030 will be remain just but a pipe dream.

According to the National Irrigation Authority Authority CEO Charles Muasya, the only way the body could ensure that the country was food secure and meet part of the vision 2030 to be food secure is seek alternative means of resource mobilization through Public Private partnerships.

“We are committed to ensure that this country is food secure and therefore will do much more than rely on funding from the exchequer,” Muasya said during the exercise.

This emerged during the 2023-2024 performance evaluation of the state irrigation authority (NIA) at their Nairobi headquarters.

Overseeing the exercise, the Deputy Chief of Staff, performance and delivery management Mr. Eliud Owalo, also reiterated the importance of the Irrigation authority, saying that Agriculture is a key pillar of the Bottoms-up Transformation Agenda (BETA) as espoused by the Kenya Kwanza government.

“We cannot rely on rainfed agriculture given our erratic weather patterns, irrigation therefore remains a key facilitator of sustainability in food production”, Owalo said. Authority Chair, Gilbert Maluki, also echoed the authority’s commitment to fulfilling their national mandate to enhance food production.

According to the authority, 80% of Kenyan land is either arid or semi-arid; without irrigation as an intervention therefore, the country’s food security could be seriously compromised.

The Authority aims to increase the area under irrigation by 26,685 acres and increasing by 100 percent the utilization of irrigation by all the schemes.

Amongst the thematic areas evaluated in the exercise, is the authority goal to increase irrigation schemes, boost water storage capacity in dams and reservoirs geared towards the activity and embracing modern technology amongst other goals.

Owalo added that the government has not only institutionalized performance management to hold public institutions accountable, but will also reward departments that would have met their targets by having their allocations increased. Perpetual non-performers, added the deputy chief of staff, will face sanctions. Effective irrigation programmes across the country have a knock-on effect of lowering costs of agricultural inputs  which translates to lower costs of production.