The County Government through the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (NARIGP) project is desilting dams across the County to maximize storage and water carrying capacity to reduce the scarcity of water during periods of drought once the groundwater is recharged.
Agriculture CEC, Dr. Immaculate Maina, graced the groundbreaking ceremony of the 38 million litre Wanyororo B dam, sitting on a five-acre piece of land, in Bahati sub-county.
Another 20 farm ponds have been dug along the terrain, benefitting 20 farmers while plans to dig cut-off drains to reduce soil erosion are underway.
Dr. Maina urged the farmers to practice micro-irrigation by tapping road runoff to reduce runoff water causing siltation of the Wanyororo dam.
Over 1.200 households are expected to benefit immensely once the six-month project is complete to reduce their over-dependency on rain-fed agriculture during periods of drastic climatic changes.
She noted opportunities for employment for the youth and women in the area in beekeeping and agroforestry tree nursery operations and said the county will provide support for the success of these ventures.
Agriculture Chief Officer, Mr. Kibett Maina, noted that bad agricultural practices upstream were the cause of the siltation and urged the residents to work collaboratively with county extension officers to improve on that.
He urged the contractor to ensure that all unskilled labor required should be carried out by the locals.
In addition to that, CO Maina discouraged the inclusion of tourism activities in the dam noting its purpose to solely support household activities as well as crop and livestock farmers.
The County Government in partnership with National Irrigation Board also dug 100 water pans in 100 households in Lare ward, Njoro sub-county promoting water harvesting and micro-irrigation at the household level.
