CDA completes the first phase of its $30.3 million irrigation scheme in Taita Taveta, Kenya

Posted on : Tuesday , 25th May 2021

The Coast Development Authority (CDA) in Kenya's Taita Taveta County is completing the first phase of an ongoing irrigation and drought mitigation project. The new facilities are expected to enable at least 100 smallholder farmers in the Nakuruto and Challa areas to resume their operations.

Farmers in Kenya's Taita Taveta County now have irrigation systems to help them recover their crops after a long period of drought caused by a lack of rain. The systems were built by the Coast Development Authority (CDA), which is working in Taita Taveta on an irrigation and drought control project.

The Coast Development Authority irrigated the land of 100 small-scale farmers in the Nakuruto and Challa localities during Phase I of the project. Fresh water will be pumped from Lake Challa, which is situated on the Kenya-Tanzania border. Farmers in Taita Taveta County will be able to increase their agricultural production of bananas, maize, beans, cabbage, pepper, tomatoes, onions, and Brussels sprouts as a result of the irrigated land, improving food security in these arid areas.

The Kenyan Treasury provided 45 million Kenyan shillings (over US$413,600) for Phase I of the Taita Taveta Land Irrigation Project. This stage of the project improved the water supply for people in the Taveta, Mwatate, and Voi areas in addition to irrigating the land.

Following Taita Taveta, the Coast Development Authority will begin its irrigation project in Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu, and Tana River coastal counties. In the project's final two stages, the government agency expects to irrigate around 1000 hectares of soil. The Kenyan government will spend 3.3 billion Kenyan shillings (approximately $30.3 million) on the initiative. In a country where 20 of 47 counties are on drought watch, the project is critical. Food insecurity affects over a million people.