Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has rolled out several irrigation projects that have seen farmers in the county reap big.
The irrigation projects were initiated to enhance access to water thus enabling thousands of farmers to implement subsistence farming.
Many farmers have recorded an increase in agricultural productivity, thus reducing food insecurity and uplifting the living standards of many families in the rural areas.
John Maina, a resident of Kariko village and one of the beneficiaries of this project, said they struggled to access water for their farming activities.
Most of the time, he said they had to walk to rivers with jerry cans to fetch water for their farming activities, an endeavour that he narrates denied him time to attend to other key activities.
“Before
the project was initiated, we struggled to grow enough food for our families
but now we can irrigate our farms and grow crops such as vegetables whereby we
produce enough for our families and sell the surplus to the market thus
creating employment for ourselves,” said Maina.
Peter Muthii, the Chairman of the Kiamuka Irrigation Water project, said that the availability of water has greatly benefitted farmers.
According to him, they can now cultivate even during the dry seasons unlike before when they only relied on rainfall for farming.
He said that despite being a dry season, he was expecting to harvest about five crates of tomatoes from his small piece of land.
With the proceeds from his farm, he is able to feed and educate his three children and create a job for himself.
“The County Government has been assisting us with water distribution pipes, micro tunnelling as well as training on proper use and maintenance of irrigation systems. Many farms in this area are evergreen since farmers don’t have to wait for the rains to grow their crop,” said the Chairman.
His neighbour Bernard Ngirigacha is growing cabbage in his small farm where he estimates that he will pocket at least Sh50,000.
Lucy Nyakio Karimi who is a young farmer from Kiriguini village is also reaping from the Kiamuka water project.
On her farm, she grows cabbage, kales, capsicum, and spring onions which she uses to feed her family and sells the surplus to cater for other household requirements.
She has also employed several people to tend to her farm thus creating employment opportunities.
Nyakio’s story is similar to that of Roselyn Muriithi, a retired government officer who is now a small-scale farmer.
With irrigation water, she no longer has to go to the market to buy vegetables since she gets them from her farm.
She is intercropping coffee, assorted vegetables as well as livestock farming.
Most of the farmers use sprinkler irrigation methods while a few of them have installed drip irrigation systems.
The County Executive Committee Member for Water and Irrigation, James Kinyua Mutugi, said that Kiamuka is one of the impacts of a well-coordinated plan by Governor Waiguru to ensure that Kirinyaga people benefitted from the county government through such strategic partnerships.
“Such projects provide an opportunity for job creation through farming given that is the mainstay of our county.
"The county Government is expanding the water distribution network to reach more households with about 100,000 families targeted for irrigation water projects across the county. We aim at ensuring that our people are engaged economically and that their standards of living are uplifted,” said the CEC.
To increase the distribution network of both domestic and irrigation water to the county residents, Governor Waiguru has completed more than 70 water projects while another 80 projects are ongoing.
The governor has been distributing water pipes and fittings as well as funding micro tunnelling for various projects across the county.
She said that her administration is committed to supporting farmers to increase agricultural production in the light of resource scarcity and climate change.
One of the successful projects is the Kiamuka Irrigation Water Project in Mutira Ward in Kirinyaga Central.
Even though the farms served by the project are generally fertile and have the potential of producing bumper harvests, farming was always a challenge owing to over-dependence on rainfall. T
his would make farmers only cultivate during the rainy seasons thereby subjecting many families to food insecurity.
With the completion of
the project, however, the story has changed and farmers can now irrigate their
farms and get a bumper harvest throughout the year.