One of the centre pivot irrigation machine being istalled on the second plantation farm in a ten thousand hectares model Farm of Galana Kulalu Food Security Project [Gideon Maundu, Standard]
Kenya plans to expand the Galana Kulalu Food Project after a successful first 500-acre trial crop.
President William Ruto in a tweet said the trial was a “great success” adding that there are plans to expand to 20,000 acres next year and progressively to 200,000 acres in four years.
“The first 500-acre trial crop in Galana,great success. Next year, with the private sector, we will expand to 20,000 acres and progressively to 200,000 acres in four years,” said President Ruto in the tweet.
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President Ruto noted that this is part of the country's food security plan to eliminate hunger.
“This is part of our food security plan to eliminate the shame of hunger from our motherland. Forward always,” says part of his tweet.
The president stopped a planned subdivision of Galana Kulalu land into settlement parcels and ordered the revival of the Galana Kulalu irrigation project in January, which began with maize production in February.
“I direct Private Sector and GOK (the National Irrigation Authority) under a Public–Private Partnership (PPP) to work on the ready 10,000 acres to produce food starting with maize in February,” he said at the time.
The government on April 13 had said they would soon start commercial use of idle land in the country.
Principal Secretary, State Department for Crops, Kello Harsama, said there are huge chunks of land that have been lying idle for many years.
“We have been having a serious shortage of maize in the country and in order to seal this gap, one of the options which has been realised is to ensure that we utilise these huge tracts of land owned by these organisations," Harsama said.
The Sh7.5 Billion Galana Kulalu Food Security Project which covers 1.75 million acres of land was begun by the government seven years ago but would later stall.
The project began in what the Jubilee government said was aimed at improving food production in the country. The government used more than 1.2 million acres of land belonging to the Agricultural Development Corporation for the project through irrigation.
In 2021 the government invited the private sector to become partners in the project, saying that the move was aimed at using their efficiency in the agricultural sector.
