The low head drip kit microirrigation was introduced in kenya in the late 1990s. The other half is in devising a very simple pricing model, so that farmers pay a flat fee per acre of irrigation, shipped and installed anywhere in kenya. Irrigation is postulated as the solution for food problems and drought without analysing the extremely poor performance of this sector. The kenyan agricultural research institute kari has been promoting the technology since 1996. Most farmers in kenya spend an average of kes 500 to 1500 daily on fuel to operate their water pump. Get assured market access for your crops by growing in small portions. What are the problems experienced in irrigation farming in. An irrigation system consists of abstraction, conveyance, application and drainage components. Oct 23, 20 amiran launches low cost irrigation kit to spur up new age farming. Blank lowhead irrigation technologies were introduced in kenya in 1995 by christian mission aid. The changing face of irrigation in kenya iwmi cgiar. The perkerra river is a river in the great rift valley in kenya that feeds the freshwater lake baringo.
Data sheet drip irrigation kits 0 dayliff drip irrigation kits are an easy way to increase the productivity of most small scale farms. For health and profit1 by jack keller2 background like other subsaharan countries, land and water resources are becoming even scarcer and arable land in kenya has decreased from about 5 ha per person in 1960 to 0. Here we see an area of land in kenya where rainfall is a threat to soil quality. Some irrigation schemes are far from the market which increases transport costs. The project was an ambitious attempt of the government of kenya, the world bank and a few other.
Avoid wastes for more of this and other stories, grab your copy of the standard newspaper. Increase your income by adding value to farm products. Amiran kenya is the exclusive representative of netafim, the largest and most innovative irrigation company. For the last 30 years, amiran has design and install more than 200 farms in kenya with the average annual of 150 ha installation. What are the problems experienced in irrigation farming in kenya. There were 224 economically active rural persons per km. Using a solar pump instead of a diesel petrol grid electric or manual pump saves lot.
Agro inputs company amiran kenya has launched a low cost irrigation kit in a bid to entice more youths and farmers who cannot afford the more pricey kits at a time when changes in weather pattern is seeing farmers move to new age farming methods to ensure year round supply of their produce. The drip irrigation is superior to the conventional methods of irrigation in various ways. The one million acre irrigation scheme is expected to increase food security in kenya. Drip irrigation can improve yields of kenya s top 5 crops by up to 17x what kenya achieves today through rainfed agriculture kenya s agriculture is primarily rainfed.
Anonymous we like the drip irrigation system very much, and wehuntop industries co. Sunculture with the tremendous solar potential in kenya and the maturity of pv and electric pump technology, the agricultural sector, including smallholderlevel farms, is an ideal candidate for rapid growth, improving crop yields, productivity and farmer income while avoiding massive amounts of ghg emissions. An area of up to 1,000 m2 can be covered by a drum system. Agro irrigation and pump services ltd 3211100600, north airport road, embakasi.
We are raising funds to provide drip irrigation to students in kenya. After the commencement of this act, no irrigation developments may be carried out in kenya otherwise than under this act. The last of the major types of irrigation commonly used is manual irrigation using buckets or watering cans. Onion farming in kenya using greener earth drip irrigation pipes give us a call on 0712163101 or 0702677599 and visit us online. Relevance of kenyan irrigation experience to eastern and southern africa. Many of these students have to walk long distances to get to school, and most go the entire day without anything to eat. Lowcost drip irrigation systems for smallholder farmers. Mnyunyizi drip irrigation illuminum greenhouses kenya. Irrigation in africa 3fa0, crisis of sustainability. Glenn guy the development of the one million acre irrigation scheme will be undertaken under the publicprivate partnership.
We provide modern, lowcost and highly effective agricultural drip irrigation kits and farming solutions. Timer, check valve, addit fertilizer injector, y filter, pressure regulator, 12 black poly tubing, then success. The proposed lower nzoia irrigation development project phase i would contribute toward addressing the aspirations of agricultural development policy in kenya, as envisioned in the asds and kenyas vision 2030. The main advantage of drum systems is the bigger area that can be covered compared to the bucket system.
Lowcost drip irrigation systems for smallholder farmers in. A drip irrigation system is easy to drip irrigation is the slow and precise delivery of water to chosen plantings. It is a core aspect of our mission to act with integrity in all of our operations. Irrigation in kenya usually requires a considerable amount of energy to pump water to reservoirs or directly to the farm. The last site visit for investors circle in nairobi was sunculture, seller of solarpowered pumps and dropirrigation systems for small farms across kenya speaking of culture, one learning on this trip about east africa was the blended nature of the populace. Give irrigation priority in sh63bn thwake dam project, residents say thwake dam is predicted by water engineers to become one of africas largest manmade lakes by kitavi mutua. Drip irrigation for smallholder farmers rooted in hope. The main advantage of drum systems is the bigger area that can be covered compared to the bucket. Drip irrigation project design manufacturer china huntop by. Drip irrigation saves so much water that it is required by california law as the way to water narrow or sparse plantings in new commercial and larger residential landscapes. About 95% of the rice in kenya is grown under irrigation in paddy schemes managed by the national irrigation board nib.
The project area is situated just south of the equator in the lower tana basin. Drip irrigation is the slow, precise application of water and nutrients directly to the plant root zone in a predetermined pattern. The board of directors of sunculture expects all employees to comply with both the letter and the spirit of the law and governance codes. Irrigation in kenya kenya has a landmass of 582,000 km2 out of which only 16% of this is of medium to high potential. Some irrigation schemes are affected by floods during rainy seasons in places like bunyala. Jun 30, 2015 mnyunyizi is a complete irrigation system that comes with all the required materials needed to ensure an all year food production for these farmers. Africas land resource base, document agdl 801l for expert consultation on the in depth study of agricultural and food problems in africa, rome, italy, 1619 december 1985, fao, rome, november 1985, p 119.
It is the only perennial river in the arid and semiarid lands of the baringo county. Startup creates solar powered irrigation kit to help. Amiran launches low cost irrigation kit to spur up new age farming. This is the oldest irrigation scheme in the country. Jun 26, 2014 onion farming in kenya using greener earth drip irrigation pipes give us a call on 0712163101 or 0702677599 and visit us online. And bura irrigation and settlement project is the outstanding example of irrigation as a privileged solution. Read on for reasons why drip irrigation works, the basics on drip irrigation, the reasons why you should have a system of your own, and where to start. These were presented to nurses at jacaranda maternity hospital, st. One such project is the galana kulalu food security project that is hosted by two counties, kilifi and. Drip irrigation is highly demanding in kenya flower sector. Kenyan ministry of water and irrigation 2009 integrated water resources management and. Bura irrigation and settlement project kenya wikipedia. This will be the first sanitation conference to be hosted by the minstry. It is the simplest method of irrigation where a farmer simply draws water from a surface water body such as a river,dam or a lake using a bucket or a watering can, and applies to the crops in order to add moisture to the crops.
The high population growth has contributed to this. Benefits of a drip irrigation system although some new gardeners may be tempted to rely on a sprinkler system to water their gardens, a drip irrigation system is a better choice for a number of. Designation of the national irrigation schemes and vesting of land 1 the minister may, by notice in the gazette, designate any area of land to be a national irrigation scheme. An enabling environment is needed to allow farmers to supply the demand for their produce. Spate or flood irrigation in kenya irrigation in the field is concerned with obtaining water from a source and transferring it through a conveyance system to the soil within usable range of roots of the growing plant. Kenya, through the ministry of water, sanitation and irrigation will be hosting the kenya sanitation conference 2019, from 28th to 31st october 2019 at the kenyatta international convention centre nairobi, kenya. The perkerra river supplies water to the perkerra irrigation scheme in the jemps flats near marigat township, just south of the lake. By supplying these schools with drip kits and establishing kitchen gardens, we will help to bring food security and nutrition to students in need. Agro irrigation and pump services ltd embakasi facebook. Irrigation is practised in dry areas where soils are suitable for growing crops, but the rainfall is not enough.
Smallholder community irrigation schemes are owned, operated and managed by the farmers through their irrigation water users associations. The irrigation kit that they developed uses solar water pumping technology and highefficiency drip irrigation. Uganda to implement drip irrigation systems from isreal. National irrigation bill draft kenya by oromo kevin issuu. The changing face of irrigation in kenya is truly exemplified by this movement. Half of that comes from adopting technology solutions for drip irrigation heretofore unseen in africa with an aim at lowering the cost of both the products and distribution. Mnyunyizi is a complete irrigation system that comes with all the required materials needed to ensure an all year food production for these farmers. This book raises many issues while pointing to several promising areas as the way forward. In kenya, food insecurity continues to loom, not to mention the existing water crisis. University egu, njoro, and the kenyan ministry of water and irrigation, irrigation and. The high potential area receives over mm annual rainfall and accounts for less than 20% of the agricultural land and carries about 50% 15 million of the countrys population.
Several methods are used by kenyan farmers to practice irrigation and the following are some of the major ways used to carry out irrigation. Lowcost irrigation for poverty reduction an evaluation of lowhead drip irrigation technologies in kenya s. Drip lines offer the services of being efficient in water dispensation due to localized irrigation near the plant root. In 1977 the board of governors of the world bank approved bura irrigation and settlement project bisp in kenya. I am installing a drip irrigation system to use on my deck to support our container plants. Kenya as encapsulated in the agricultural sector development strategy asds and kenyas vision 2030.
Because the pump is solar it works well in kenyas climate, especially the countrys drier regions, noted ibrahim. The low head drip kit micro irrigation was introduced in kenya in the late 1990s. Laws of kenya irrigation act chapter 347 revised edition 2012 1986 published by the national council for law reporting with the authority of the attorneygeneral. Solar irrigation to grow smallholder profits in kenya. Many countries in the region face similar problems and we hope this book will be of value. The project aims at enhancing national food security through installation of gravity water abstraction system to lower the cost of production and increase the area under irrigation in bura irrigation scheme to 15,000 acres from the current 6,000 acres thus meeting the food need of the community in the arid county of tana river, its neighboring counties and kenya at large. The envoy said this was possible considering that kenya has plenty of water resources and fertile soils, unlike israel that is a desert but has achieved food security and is a major food exporter. Irrigation technology in south africa and kenya scielo. Amiran launches low cost irrigation kit to spur up new age. Irrigation in kenya is being used as one of the ways that can be used to enhance farming and boost agricultural productivity in the country. It consists of water containers, usually a bucket or a drums, raised about one metre to gain gravitational head. The government of kenya through the national irrigation board is using irrigation technologies to ensure intensification of production and the opening of new projects in the arid and semiarid areas to achieve food security in the country.
Irrigation status irrigation potential and achievements kenya. Dec 09, 2012 the last of the major types of irrigation commonly used is manual irrigation using buckets or watering cans. Africa is seeing a surge of interest in irrigation among small. Kenya drip irrigation importers, buyers and distributors. It lies on the west bank of the tana river and falls within the administrative area of tana river county. Sunculture is committed to complying with the all applicable laws and best corporate governance practices, wherever we operate. Lowcost drip irrigation systems for smallholder farmers in tanzania 167 the area that can be irrigated.
539 493 914 720 501 527 548 151 961 670 1283 586 652 101 1554 86 1424 1040 73 1016 31 466 1004 1177 1365 841 927 559 468 290 608 281 522 1224 650 235 835 1266