Galana irrigation project to go on, says State

The Government has promised that the Galana Kulalu Food Security Project in Kilifi and Tana River counties will not be abandoned.

Irrigation Principal Secretary Patrick Nduati confirmed that the project will continue as one of the Vision 2030 projects despite strong opposition. The newly appointed PS said this during a familiarisation tour of the 10,000-acre model farm in Malindi sub-county, where he observed that the project had already identified six high yielding maize varieties best suited for the region.

"This project will go on despite the challenges it is facing in its infancy," the PS said.

The Galana Kulalu Food Security Project is the largest irrigation project in the country. The project funded by the Kenyan and Israeli governments is expected to supplement food production from the traditional food basket regions of North Rift.

According to Project Manager Henry Onchiere, the project, currently in its second phase, will see only six of the best suited varieties planted on initial 500 acres, with an expected harvest of 1,755 tonnes.

“In the second phase, we have planted only the best six varieties on 500 acres. During the initial harvest, these highly yielding varieties produced 39 bags per acre while the worst producing varieties gave only five bags per acre,” he stated.