The Mountain Journal
editor@themountainjournal.co.ke
Farmers in Kirinyaga County are reaping big from irrigation projects initiated by the County
Government.
The projects, aimed at increasing access to irrigation water supply have enabled thousands of
households to undertake subsistence farming thus increasing agricultural productivity, reducing
food insecurity and uplifting the living standards of many families in the rural areas.
Under an elaborate plan by Governor Anne Waiguru to increase the distribution network of both
domestic and irrigation water to the county residents, more than 70 water projects have been
completed while another 80 projects are ongoing.
The governor has been distributing water pipes and fittings as well as funding micro tunneling
for various projects across the county. She said that her administration is committed to
supporting farmers to increase agricultural production in the light of resources scarcity and
climate change.
One of the successful projects is Kiamuka Irrigation Water Project in Mutira Ward in Kirinyaga
Central. The project that benefits 800 households has been transforming household through
subsistence crop farming enabled by efficient water management even when there is no rainfall.
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. This 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.
John Maina, a resident of Kariko village and one of the beneficiaries of this project narrated how
they used to fetch water from the river using jerry cans, a tedious and a time wasting task that
often deprived them of time to attend to other activities. But with the project, they only allocate a
few minutes to water their crop and then go about their other duties.
“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 Kiamuka Irrigation Water project, said that availability of water
has greatly benefitted farmers since 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 tomato 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 tunneling as
well as training on proper use and maintenance of irrigation systems. Many farms in this area
are ever green since farmers don’t have to wait for the rains to grow their crop.” Said the
Chairman.
His neighbor, Bernard Ngirigacha, is growing cabbage in his small farm where he expects to
harvest not less than Ksh. 50,000 worth of cabbage, a thing he could not dream of before he got
connected with the irrigation water.
Lucy Nyakio Karimi who is a young farmer from Kiriguini village is also reaping from Kiamuka
water project. On her farm, she grows cabbage, kales, capsicum, 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 sprinkle 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 is uplifted,” said the CEC.
