Background
Kenya is depending on agriculture as 80% of the population lives in rural areas and the agricultural sector contributes 26% to the GDP. The country is facing a deepening poverty and food insecurity in around 50% of the households. The water availability in Kenya is scarce and in some areas the competition for water resources results in violent conflicts.
Irrigation plays an important role in increasing food security and in bringing income to the farmers. As Kenya is divided into different agro-ecological zones, different farming areas ranging from high to medium potential areas, arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) exist. The high potential areas in the central region north of Nairobi[1] are characterized by high rainfall, permanent river flows, and fertile soils. Commercial farming in that area is dominant. The use of low-cost small-scale irrigation technology is relatively widespread, and (financial) infrastructure and access to markets are relatively good developed In the medium and low potential areas low-cost small-scale irrigation technologies rarely exists, amongst others due to lack of irrigated areas and access to financial services.
Financial services are rarely available for poor smallholder famers[2], as most of the financial institutions concentrate on financing input for crop production, lack of experience with small-scale farmers, and products are not adapted to requirements of small-scale farmers. On the other hand, smallholder farmers lack knowledge about financial institutions and available products, and are often biased towards them. However, financial services are available and the financial sector is one of the most developed and diversified in Sub-Saharan Africa. (GIZ, 2006).
Governmental irrigation development programs
The first irrigation development projects were undertaken in the colonial era with the establishment of larges schemes with the objective to settle landless population. Small-scale irrigation[1] was put into focus in the 1970s. Water user groups or Water User Associations (WUA) were established for organizing these schemes. Supporting governmental entities are the Irrigation and Drainage Branch (IDB) of the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Rural Development Authorities (RDA). In the late 1980s the private sector started involving in horticultural marketing and exports with participation of small-scale farmers and was rapidly growing (Neubert et.al, 2007).
The governmental irrigation development programs are mainly focusing on small-scale farmers without excess to irrigation water. In the past the farmers were supported through “full initial investment” which nowadays was turned into a cost-sharing mechanism between the beneficiaries (GIZ, 2006).
Small-scale irrigation technologies
Different irrigation systems exist; ranging from intermediate technology systems to manually
operated pump systems (see Table 1).
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Supportive factors for the development of small-scale irrigation includes
- Areas with high agricultural potential (fertile soils, sufficient rainfall, access to financial services)
- Market oriented farmers
- Access to individual short to medium-term loans
- Access to affordable technologies and equipment
- Availability of on-farm water
- Access to markets
- Access to financial services
(GIZ, 2006).
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Different irrigation systems exist; ranging from intermediate technology systems to manually operated pump systems (see Table 1). Small-scale irrigation technologies are mainly applied in the high potential areas, where farmers have the financial capabilities and know-how and produce market.
Low cost technologies are used by poor small rural households and for home gardening in peri-urban areas. They vary from bucket and drum kit irrigation to rope & washer pump systems, and more advanced treadle pumps and hand operated pressure pumps. Table 1 gives an overview of investment and technical requirements. Some of them are built with locally available material by local mechanics, and are a distributed locally. Operation and maintenance requirements are low, as are investment loans, but they are labor intensive. However, these systems cannot be applied e.g. in gravity fed communal systems.
Medium-cost technology comprises e.g. motorized pumps, which require less manual labor and can irrigate larger areas in topographical challenging areas.
Beside the small-scale irrigation technologies, community irrigation schemes, mainly with gravity-fed sprinkler or furrow irrigation systems, exist. Communal systems include around 150 to 250 small-scale farmers. Each farmer operates independently and individually and cultivates around 0.2 to 0.4 ha. These systems need more costly and complex irrigation systems and infrastructure, and therefore require loans. Investment costs are around US$ 1500 to 2000 for 0.4ha.
An overview of different level of irrigation technologies and investment needs are summarized in Table 2. Low-cost irrigation technology is mainly financed through savings and short-term loans, while medium-cost irrigation equipment (e.g. motorized pumps) requires savings in combination with loans.
