The 12.5-acre Kachoda irrigation scheme in Lapur Ward of Turkana North Sub-County has been completed. Equipping and installation of solar equipment at the borehole with a yield of 5m3/hr, laying of 16 millimetres drip kits and water reticulation for the community with 3-standpipe water points has been undertaken to ensure that operation at the farm goes uninterrupted.
The farm will employ an integrated model of agro-pastoralism as it has been divided into three sections for horticultural crop production which are meant to boost nutrition security of the targeted households, development of tree orchard as well as pasture production.
Speaking when he led a team of officers from the Department of Irrigation and Land Reclamation for a final inspection of the newly constructed scheme, Agriculture County Executive Philip Ebei Aemun expressed the Government’s commitment to the training of the Irrigation Water Users Association on operation and maintenance of irrigation infrastructure as a long term measure for capacity strengthening of communities for enhanced sustainability of projects once it’s handed over by the Government/Partners.
He emphasized the need by the farm committee to seriously take charge of running affairs of the Kachoda irrigation scheme which he said would be an economic game-changer in the area because of a ready market for vegetables if effectively managed. The CEC assured that the department would continue collaborating with officials from the Furrows in the Desert project to train and capacity build them on agriculture and livestock extension services to increase productivity.
Three members from Kachoda have been sponsored by the County Government, and are currently at Lobur mission for training on extension so that they can be become Trainers of Farmers (TOFs) for the rest of the farmers, once they graduate.
The Kachoda irrigation scheme is part of the 137.5 acres of farming land for crop production that the Government is piloting through the model drip irrigation system, at a cost of Ksh.130,815,015 million.
County Chief Officer for Agriculture and Land Reclamation Jacob Lolelea said that the department had increased efforts to rehabilitate and improve irrigation infrastructure for crop production to address cases of food insecurity and acute malnutrition, which had also been coupled by recurring droughts.
