The State Department for Irrigation is seeking strategic collaboration with the Government of Portugal to support the implementation of the National Irrigation Sector Investment Plan, which aims to bring an additional one million acres under irrigation across the country.
This follows a high-level engagement between the Principal Secretary for Irrigation Ephantus Kimotho, and the Portuguese Ambassador to Kenya, Paulo Neves Pocinho,during a courtesy call by the PS at the Embassy of Portugal in Nairobi.
The discussions focused on strengthening Kenya–Portugal cooperation in irrigation development through technical support, investment partnerships, and knowledge exchange geared towards transforming Kenya’s agricultural sector and enhancing national food security.
Kenya is keen on leveraging Portugal’s expertise and experience in sustainable irrigation infrastructure development, particularly in the modernization and expansion of irrigation and drainage systems.
The proposed collaboration seeks to support strategic investments in the construction of dams, reliable water abstraction systems, improvement of water conveyance infrastructure, and canal lining to minimize water losses and improve irrigation efficiency.
The partnership will also explore opportunities for Portuguese investors to participate in large-scale irrigation development through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), targeting commercial irrigation and food production projects aimed at scaling up corporate agribusiness and agricultural productivity.
In addition, the discussions highlighted the importance of supporting smallholder farmers through farmer-led irrigation initiatives. Portugal’s Small Projects Fund was identified as a potential avenue for financing high-impact community-based irrigation projects that will empower farmers, improve household incomes, and contribute to enhanced food security and rural livelihoods.
The cooperation further seeks to strengthen water resource development to improve water availability for irrigation and enhance farmers’ resilience to climate change, especially in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), which constitute a significant portion of the country. Expanding sustainable irrigation agriculture in these regions is expected to promote year-round farming, reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture, and improve national agricultural output.
Accompanying the Principal Secretary was the Head of Partnerships and Resource Mobilization, Ms. Florence Ndai.
