The government has handed over Small Irrigation and Value Addition Project (SIVAP) sites in Galole constituency, Tana River County to contractors.
The successful bidders are expected to assemble their machinery and to commence the drilling of 12 shallow wells and construction of three water pans in Chifiri, Hakoka and Gururi areas within 14 days.
”We are handing over the sites to the winning bidders. The projects are worth 150M in the first phase. It will involve the drilling of 12 shallow wells and three water pans,’’ said Engineer Omari Josphat, SIVAP project manager.
The project is implemented by the State Department for Crop Development and Agricultural Research. It is in 11 counties that include: Tana River, Makueni, Kajiado, Machakos, Bomet, Tharaka Nithi, Meru, Nyeri, Nyandarua and Kitui.
SIVAP aims at the reduction of poverty by enhancing agricultural productivity, income and food security in the eleven counties. Most of the counties are semi-arid and receives low to moderate rainfall.
The project will enhance irrigation infrastructures, water resource development and improved agricultural markets access through the construction of roads in the communities.
‘At the end of the project, we are expecting to have drilled 27 shallow wells, access road, livestock yard and two market sheds in Galole catchment area. The government will have injected close to 500M in Tana River,’’ said Engineer Omari Josphat.
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He added that they are expecting the beneficiaries to increase their productivity, drought continue to ravages parts of the Tana River.
County Irrigation Engineer William Jillo said SIVAP has come to augment their efforts to make Tana River food resilient.
Mohamed Babo from Mravani group said they have been using diesel-powered machines, thus have been incurring high cost of production. The shallow wells will be solar-powered and will help them to irrigate their farms.
‘We have been experiencing challenges in farming. In the project we will improve our productivity. We will increase our acreage from 40 to 60 acres. We will use the water for domestic purposes too,’’ Harun Dhadho, beneficiary from Chewani ward said.
SIVAP has been funded by a loan from Africa Development Bank (AfDB), a grant from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) and the Government of Kenya.
