Ahero Irrigation Scheme in Kano plains, Kisumu county, is undergoing expansion targeted to benefit 2,500 farmers.
West Kenya Irrigation Schemes manager Joel Tanui said the expansion will put an additional 2,500 acres of land under irrigation.
The scheme was operationalised in 1969 and has grown over the years to an area of about 13,000 acres benefiting close to 7,000 farmers.
Tanui said the expansion which is being implemented National Irrigation Authority targets to put 2,500 more acres of land under irrigation.
He said areas such as Mbega and Kobong’o schemes within the larger Kano plains will be irrigated.
“Residents of this area who have been hard hit by perennial floods are now optimistic that their livelihoods will change for the better,” Tanui said.
The scheme over the years has seen an increase in the need for irrigated agriculture hence the government’s commitment of resources to expand crop production in the area.
He said the expansion works have provided employment opportunities to residents of the surrounding community who now take up jobs such as weeding, planting, and harvesting.
In Kobong’o scheme, farmers have embraced horticultural farming. Philemon Amai has moved away from the norm of rice farming and diversified into horticulture and sugarcane farming.
“I am optimistic of good yields by end of the season from my four acres of land,” Amai said.
Other areas under the WKS include West and South-West Kano schemes whose acreage total to about 7,000 acres benefiting more than 5,000 farmers.
The two areas have been immensely affected by floods as a result of the back flow of water from Lake Victoria.
Ahero Irrigation Scheme falls under the larger Western Kenya schemes operationalised in 1969.
In 2019, the NIA embarked on an expansion plan of the Ahero scheme to areas such as Mbega and Kobong’o schemes.
In Mbega, farmers have fully taken up rice production to more than 1,200 acres so far, while in Kobong’o, farmers are involved in horticultural products such as green grams.
The irrigation is done by water pumping from the nearby River Nyando. With the expansion, the expected rice produce stands at 11,000 metric tonnes, estimated to be worth more than Sh500 million.
Rice farming is a key contributor to the country’s food basket. WKS is comprised of several schemes (public and community initiated); majorly in the Lake Victoria basin.
From 1969, two public schemes have been predominant in the region namely Ahero and West Kano Irrigation Schemes.
The initial acreage under irrigation stood at 9,898 acres, but as the need for irrigation increases, NIA has endeavoured to commit resources and expand the area under irrigation in the region by additional 2,500 acres over the past year. The total area now stands at 13,098 acres.
Edited by EKibii