Sustainable irrigation key to Kenya’s climate change response
Key on the agenda at the just-concluded 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland, was action on global warming and how to strengthen countries’ ability to mitigate the impact of climate change. The climate crisis has had far-reaching adverse impact on food security, mainly through extreme and unpredictable weather patterns. Countries like Kenya that rely heavily on rain-fed agriculture therefore need to invest in sustainable irrigation and water harvesting. According to the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, the crisis has led to erratic rainfall patterns, decline in water availability and reduction in agricultural productivity in many countries, including Kenya. Big 4 Agenda Irrigation is also at the heart of the Big 4 Agenda; under the food security pillar, which seeks to boost large-scale food production, nutrition, small-holder productivity and reduce the cost of food. With 80 per cent of the total land mass being arid or semi-arid, sustainable agriculture can only be achieved through modern irrigation. Irrigation is also integral to the Agriculture Sector Transformation and Growth Sector (ASTGS), a 10-year road map that prioritises construction of dams and rainwater harvesting projects in Kenya. Smallholder irrigation holds the key to food security and climate change response. The Ministry of Water and Irrigation estimates there are more than 107,000 smallholder irrigation projects in Kenya. However, many of these are hampered by lack of funds, inadequate water supply, poor management skills and obsolete technology. Providing appropriate technology and project management skills to farmers and agricultural extension officers would go a long way in ensuring long-term viability. Agriculture is a devolved function. Counties should, therefore, fund irrigation and water-harvesting projects so as to boost crop diversification and resilience.