- The Deputy President said the government will adopt public-private partnerships to build dams in arid and semi-arid areas which are highly fertile.
- Gachagua challenged Kenyans to support the government in protecting the environment and planting of trees to beat climate change.
Image: RIGATHI GACHAGUA/TWITTER
The Government is working with partners to expand irrigation in arid and semi-arid lands to lower the cost of living, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said.
Speaking in Mombasa when he opened the Water and Sanitation Conference on behalf of President William Ruto, Gachagua said irrigation is a sure way of enhancing food security.
He said climate change has negatively impacted Kenya and reliance on rain for food is unsustainable.
"Interventions on climate change are no longer a choice, but a necessity and a must. That is why the Ruto Administration has made deliberate plans to move away from rain-fed agriculture," he said.
The Deputy President said the government will adopt public-private partnerships to build dams in arid and semi-arid areas which are highly fertile.
“We are taking measures to restore depleted or destroyed water towers alongside our plan of planting 15 billion trees by 2032. Formal and informal houses built on riparian land and other wetlands will not be spared,” the Deputy President said.
Close to 90 per cent of Kenya is arid and semi-arid. The recent drought- the longest in 40 years- has raised fears of expanding arid areas if urgent measures are not taken to increase forest cover.
Gachagua said the government will make bold decisions, even if they are unpopular, to protect the environment.
The conference seeks to explore strategies of riding on technology and innovation to spur progress in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6, which calls on Member States of the United Nations to ensure access to water and sanitation for all.
“Access to clean and safe water will ensure sustainable health, agriculture, housing, education, safe environment, among others. The exhibition here displays the deployment of technology from which we will borrow heavily and integrate into the implementation of the Kenya Kwanza Plan,” Gachagua said.
Under Vision 2030, Kenya aims to spend at least Sh1.8 trillion to improve water, sanitation and hygiene.
The Deputy President added that while the government is investing more resources in access to water, it is also seeking collaboration with other stakeholders.
He challenged Kenyans to support the government in protecting the environment and planting trees to beat climate change.