Problems that face irrigation farming in Kenya

 

  • Pests and diseases. Pests like cotton seed bug and quelea birds that feed on rice coupled with crop diseases leads to low yields.

  • Unreliable rainfall in the river catchments leads to fluctuating of water hence reducing the amount of water availability for irrigation. This problem is particularly acute in Perkerra.

  • Occurrence of floods. Some irrigation schemes like Bunyala in Busia and Hola in Tana River are affected by flood water during the rainy seasons which destroy the crops and infrastructure.

  • Silting of canals. Frequent silting interrupts water flow in canals and reduces the amount of water available for irrigation. The dredging process is expensive.

  • Human diseases. Stagnant water in fields encourages the breeding of snails and mosquitoes which transmits bilharzias and malaria which weaken / kill farmers.

  • Inadequate capital. Irrigation farming requires a lot of capital to purchase the equipment and to meet the operational costs. it has been difficult to initiate new projects due to inadequate capital.

  • Mismanagement of the irrigation schemes. Due to mismanagement, several irrigation schemes have collapsed. For example, Hola, Bura, Ahero and West Kano.

  • Inadequate labour. Irrigation farming is largely labour-intensive. Farmers are therefore faced with the burden of hiring labour during the planting, weeding and harvesting periods.

  • Poor extension services. There are few agricultural extension officers. The badly needed technical advice to farmers is either inadequate or absent.

  • Limited markets. The surrounding areas for schemes like Hola; Kitobo in Taveta, Perkerra and Katilu in Turkana is sparsely populated and far from major towns, thus limiting the market for its products

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