The National Irrigation Authority (NIA) has requisitioned new pumps for installation at the West Kano and Ahero Irrigation Schemes in Kisumu to boost rice production.
The authority through national open tender has invited the supply and installation of new pumps at the West Kano outlet pump station for the scheme.
In the Ahero Irrigation Scheme, NIA has requested for supply and installation of new pumps at the Ahero pump station.
According to the advertisement in MyGov on February 20, bidders are required to submit their application by March 8, 2024.
On February 5, Water and Irrigation CS Zachariah Njeru and Irrigation PS Ephantus Kimotho while touring Ahero Irrigation Scheme said the authority was committed to improving infrastructure and addressing challenges facing farmers.
Njeru said the authority was in the process of procuring three water pumps for the schemes.
He said the Ahero scheme has contributed to rice production, enhanced families' incomes and reduced rice imports.
More than 30,000 farmers are currently benefiting from the scheme. Njeru commended the scheme management and committed to supporting the farmers and the authority to achieve its vision.
Currently, 17,000 acres are actively under the irrigation scheme, with rice being the main crop.
Other crops include soybean seeds, commercial soybeans, watermelon, maize, tomatoes, sorghum green-grams, cowpeas and pulses.
“We are importing 700,000 metric tonnes of rice every year. This can be stopped when more acreage is under irrigation,” Njeru said.
This is as espoused in the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
Kimotho said Nyanza and Western regions have the best water basins for irrigation.
“We want to maximise the available opportunity by first securing enough water for irrigation to achieve food security,” he said.
The PS said NIA is committed to addressing challenges facing farmers in Kisumu. He said they will procure new water pumps to address water backflow from Lake Victoria.
Last year, NIA Deputy General Manager of Operations Joel Tanui said the agency has allocated funds for the initiative in the 2023-2024 financial year’s budget.
Once the pumps are installed, rice farmers in West Kano and Ahero Irrigation Schemes are expected to access adequate water supply to enhance rice production.
The outlet pump at West Kano was set to maximise pumping efficiency and open up more land for irrigation in the 5, 000-acre scheme to scale up rice production.
Located in the Kano plains, the scheme established in 1974 serves over 900 farmers producing about 7,900 metric tonnes annually.
The scheme’s irrigation water is abstracted by pumping from Lake Victoria with the water drainage also pumped back into the lake.
Tanui said the pump which used to serve the scheme was moved to the Ahero Irrigation Scheme in 2006 to stabilise the water supply.
Farmers have in the past demanded installation of new pumps to open up blocks of the vast scheme which have been cut off following the recent floods experienced in the area.
Tanui said the authority was committed to scaling up irrigation to boost food security in the country adding that measures have been put in place to modernise operations at the scheme.
Besides the two new pumps, the authority has also advertised for the construction and development works for the Bondo community drought mitigation project-Ugambe Irrigation scheme in Bondo subcounty, Siaya county.
