HE IRRIGATION (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2026 – Kenya Moves to Merge Irrigation and Water Storage Authorities to Boost Food Security
Read The THE IRRIGATION(AMENDMENT) BILL,2026
Kenya’s government is taking a major step toward streamlining its water management infrastructure with the introduction of the Irrigation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to merge the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) and the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority (NWHSA) . The resulting entity, to be called the National Irrigation and Water Storage Authority, will bring together complementary functions to create a more unified approach to water management for agriculture.
The bill, published in the Kenya Gazette Supplement on June 5, 2026, amends the Irrigation Act (Cap. 347) to transfer all assets, liabilities, staff, and pending legal proceedings from the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority to the newly merged Authority. Employees of the dissolved authority will be deemed employees of the new body on terms to be determined by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
The merger reflects an effort to address Kenya’s pressing food security and climate adaptation challenges. The State Department for Irrigation has set ambitious targets to increase the area under irrigation from approximately 700,000 acres by 500,000 acres every five years through 2032, while also aiming to boost national water storage from 55Mm³ to 1 billion m³ by 2032 . With over 70% of Kenyan farmers relying on rain-fed agriculture, the vulnerability of the current system to erratic rainfall and prolonged droughts has become increasingly apparent .
The bill expands the legal definition of “irrigation” to encompass “land reclamation and flood control for irrigation and other uses,” while also clarifying terms such as “irrigation infrastructure,” “flood control,” and “irrigation scheme management.” This expanded mandate is expected to give the merged authority a broader toolkit to tackle water-related challenges, including flood mitigation and drought response, which have been core responsibilities of the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority .
The new Authority will oversee not only national irrigation schemes but also provide guidance on water storage requirements and assist in managing transboundary and inter-county schemes. County governments, whose functions are affected under the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution, will retain oversight of irrigation schemes under their jurisdiction.
sourced from: https://www.parliament.go.ke/sites/default/files/2026-07/THE%20IRRIGATION%28AMENDMENT%29%20BILL%2C2026.pdf
