President William Ruto has commissioned the Ziwa 2 Earth Dam Irrigation Project in Soy Constituency, Uasin Gishu County, in a move aimed at expanding irrigation farming, increasing agricultural productivity and improving farmers’ incomes.
The KSh147 million project is expected to place 500 acres of land under irrigation and benefit approximately 1,000 farmers by enabling them to engage in agricultural activities throughout the year.
In a statement following the commissioning, Ruto said the project was part of the government’s broader strategy to expand irrigation infrastructure, reduce reliance on rain-fed agriculture and strengthen national food security.
“The project will put 500 acres of land under irrigation, benefiting 1,000 farmers by enabling year-round agricultural activity, increasing agricultural productivity and boosting their incomes,” Ruto said.
The investment is expected to provide farmers with a more reliable water supply for crop production, helping them maintain agricultural activities beyond the traditional rainy seasons.
Expanding irrigation is a key component of efforts to improve food production in Kenya, where many farming communities depend on rainfall, leaving crop yields vulnerable to prolonged dry spells and unpredictable weather patterns.
By supporting year-round farming, irrigation projects can create opportunities for farmers to increase production, diversify crops and improve the consistency of their agricultural earnings.
The Ziwa 2 project also forms part of the government’s wider irrigation expansion programme, which targets the construction of 50 mega dams, 200 medium-sized dams and 1,000 micro dams across the country.
The programme is intended to increase the area under irrigation and reduce the vulnerability of agricultural production to changing weather conditions.
The government has identified irrigation infrastructure as an important intervention in strengthening food security, supporting rural livelihoods and improving the productivity of Kenya’s agricultural sector.
For farmers in Soy Constituency, the project is expected to provide an opportunity to expand cultivation across the targeted 500 acres while supporting more consistent agricultural output.
The commissioning adds to ongoing efforts to develop water infrastructure for agricultural use, with the project’s impact expected to depend on effective water management, maintenance and farmers’ access to agricultural inputs and markets.
The government’s broader irrigation targets will require continued investment in water storage infrastructure and effective implementation to ensure that more farming communities benefit from reliable water supplies for agricultural production.
