Revolutionizing Kenyan Irrigation for Food Security Boom

Growing up in the early 1990s, I remember periods of longer droughts, and we would go hungry a few times. It was not really surprising to miss food for a day or two. Neighbors would borrow maize flour when things got tough, and granaries ran dry. 

Come to think of it, this could have easily been avoided. I blame it on a lack of knowledge, but my community could have greatly benefited if they made proper use of the River Kisian and River Kanyaboli for irrigation to ensure food security all year round. 

Thankfully, this is no longer the case. With more knowledgeable people in my community, they have gathered skills in irrigation practices and climate-smart agriculture, like farming sorghum to beat unpredictable weather conditions, which have not only gotten worse but are even more delicate thanks to climate change. 

 

My community is awake, but this is not the case in other areas like Turkana, which faces harsher climate effects like extreme droughts and floods. Just this year alone, Turkana, Kenya, faced some of its worst seasons, with both human and animal lives lost. 

According to the Nile Basin Initiative, the total area equipped for irrigation is about 5.4 million hectares in the Nile Basin countries, while the cropped area is estimated at 6.4 million hectares.

Despite the prominent role of irrigation, the overall majority (over 87%) of cultivated land in the Nile Basin is under rainfed agriculture.

In 2021–2022, Kenya and several other countries in the Horn of Africa experienced severe and prolonged droughts, particularly affecting Turkana County. According to UNICEF, over 900,000 children in Kenya needed humanitarian assistance due to the extended period of drought. Drought and food security are closely intertwined challenges.

With the rapid population growth in the Nile Basin, there is a need for alternative food sources. Although there has been a dependence on rain-fed agriculture for years, an irregular weather pattern is forcing farmers to look for ways to ensure sufficient food production and even food security. 

According to the Nile Basin Initiative, agriculture is the largest consumer of Nile water; over 80% of the Nile’s water is currently used for agriculture.

Alexandratos and Bruinsma (2012) estimated that nearly all agricultural expansion in the world (irrigated and rainfed) will take place in developing countries.

With irrigation, reaching food security would be a near-attainable goal. It allows farmers to plant early, even enjoy more cycles in a year, and definitely higher yields compared to rain-fed agriculture, which is currently vulnerable thanks to climate change.

A publication by Research Direct, from different researchers on improving irrigation efficiency in the Nile basin, found that water consumption is globally driven by agricultural demand to grow food and feed people and animals, and to decrease water consumption by agriculture, there is a need to manage rainfall. Unreasonable irrigation can easily deplete water resources.

 

Article source: https://infonile.org/en/2024/01/revolutionizing-kenyan-irrigation-for-food-security-boom/