NAIROBI, Kenya, July 25 – The first phase of the multi-billion shilling Lower Nzoia Irrigation Development Project is set for completion within the next two months, the principal secretary for irrigation, Ephantus Kimotho, has said. The Sh5.3 billion, World Bank-funded project will, once complete, see rice farmers within the Bunyala irrigation scheme double their production up to 60,000 metric tonnes, Kimotho stated. Speaking after a tour of the project that cuts across Siaya and Busia counties, Kimotho said that the first phase, which is set for completion by September 30, 2023, will increase acreage under rice by 2,500 hectares. He said that the cost of production will also be reduced as water will flow by gravity from the intake point in Ugunja sub-county in Siaya, as opposed to the current situation where the national Irrigation authority is forced to spend up to Sh4 million monthly on electricity bills to pump water from the Nzoia. The principal secretary, who was flanked by Siaya county commissioner Jim Njoka, county secretary Joseph Ogutu, and top National Irrigation Authority officials, said that the project has a capacity of a further 10,000 hectares once the second phase is launched. Addressing the occasion, Budalang’i MP Raphael Wanjala hailed the government for ensuring that the project was complete, adding that it will enhance food security not only in Siaya and Busia counties but the country as a whole. “Maize has become very expensive and we must think of alternative food which is rice,” said the legislator. Wanjala called on the government to consider putting up a rice mill within the Bunyala irrigation scheme to enable the farmers to process their crops. Siaya county secretary Joseph Ogutu, who represented governor James Orengo, said the Siaya county government was committed to supporting the project, adding that they will ensure that farmers have the capacity to enhance production and form cooperative societies to market their crops. The construction of the multibillion-dollar Lower Nzoia Irrigation Development Project kicked off in 2018 and was intended to, among other things, control the perennial river Nzoia floods that have been a menace in Budalang’i.
Lower Nzoia irrigation project to be completed in two months
