The perennial hunger in Bondo sub-county could be history if a recently launched 3,000 acres irrigation project bears fruit. The brains behind the project, area MP Gideon Ochanda, says the project will transform Bondo from a food deficient region into a food basket.
Speaking last week during the launch of the multi-million shilling project, dubbed Value Farms, Ochanda said the project would create about 12,000 investment opportunities. “This will boost food security as it will lead to a mega irrigation project, which can reduce over-dependence on rain-fed agriculture,” he says.
Mechanised farming
Ochanda says with the growing population in Bondo, food is being imported outside Siaya county. “We have so many institutions in Bondo and they are all depending on imported food. We want to change this trend by investing heavily in food production,” adds Ochanda.
He says the project will enable food sufficiency and skills transfer to the locals. Ochanda says they will inject at least Sh10 million for every 250 acres.
“The initial capital injection is Sh6 million for every 250 acres, whereas Constituency Development Fund provides Sh4 million for infrastructure such as piping. Another Sh6 million is set to cater for managerial services and maintenance,” he adds.
So how does this mega project work, a farmer may wonder? With this project, land owners are the investors and the produce is shared according to one’s share, which is land. Ochanda explains that the farmers are expected to lease their land then they are paid Sh40,000 per acre and are given part of the product that is harvested from their land.
“We have been publicising this project through public barazas. That is how farmers willing to participate know all the details,” the MP explains. The land that has been ‘donated’ by farmers to make the 3,000 acre is scattered in six locations. They include Got-Ramogi, Ugambe, Nyamonye, Uhamba,Wagusu and South Sakwa.
After the farmer gives out the land, everything from the land preparation, to the management, and harvesting is managed by the project team. Some of the crops planted include maize, beans, vegetables, tomatoes among others.
“The team managing the project will employ all best practices that boost yield from using mechanised agriculture like irrigation to improved seeds and working with experienced personnel,” says Ochanda.
The idea is that with this project, Bondo will no longer experience food deficits. According to Bondo sub-county agricultural officer, Aggrey Mamesa, the region experienced a deficit of 108,000 bags of maize in
the last harvest season.
Timely project
“In the last harvest season, we realised 66,000 bags of maize against the required 174,000 bags,” says Mamesa. He says the poor harvest is as a result of over dependence on unreliable rain. But with this project there’s going to be a shift with more focus on irrigation of land using the available water bodies. The project will be undertaken at Got-Ramogi, Ugambe, Nyamonye, Uhamba,Wagusu and South Sakwa as the potential zones for the mechanised irrigation system.
David Opiyo, a shareholder at Value Farms in Got Ramogi, shares his experience with Smart Harvest. “This project is timely. The entire region has been depending on rain fed agriculture which only allows locals to practise small sale agriculture but with the mechanised system of farming, we are going to have food all year round.”
He says the project has created employment for more than 30 men and women from the village who are managing the farms.
Small resistance
“We’ve had patches of land along the lake but it has never been helpful due to numerous challenges such as wildlife invasion and the long droughts,” says Caren Auma, one of the project managers.
She says those with land in the area should make use of the irrigation system to ensure food sufficiency and improved livelihood. Claris Anyango, a small scale horticulture farmer who is part of the project, says it has come at a time when they were almost lost hope in agriculture.
“Due to shortage of rains, we usually grow crops along the lake shore but as the water level rise, our crops are always swept away,” she explains. The project roll out has not been without resistance.
“It wasn’t an easy task bringing the local community together to understand the idea. But now they appreciate that it is for their own good,” says the MP.
