The Irrigation Principal Secretary (PS), Prof. Fred Sigor said the National Government has drilled over 400 water pans in Laikipia County to help ease pressure on the agricultural land.
The PS announced that more water pans and dams are expected to be sunk in the region to provide water for small-scale irrigation and domestic use.
“Already 400 household water pans have been dug in the region with an aim of helping trap or harvest rainwater for the farmers in water-scarce regions.
“We are going to partner with the county governments to ensure that we have provided enough water for agriculture,” he said.
He said that five main dams have also been desilted, adding that more dams are expected to be desilted by the end of the year.
Prof. Sigor who spoke in Nyahururu town when he opened a youth empowerment Centre during the celebration of International youth Day on Friday said that the project would empower farmers, who, in the past, have had poor harvests, leading to severe food shortages and reliance on relief food.
“We know that Laikipia is among the ASAL counties in the country and water is a problem and that is why we are insisting on the need of water harvesting so that we can use the water for irrigation and boast food security which is one of the President Big Four Agendas,” he added.
He urged the youth from the county to make use of the water pans and the dams for irrigation to empower themselves.
Prof. Sigor said that the Government was committed to coming up with agro processing centres in the region in order to address lack of employment opportunities as well as improving the agricultural produce.
“As youth we should not only depend on white collar jobs in Nairobi because they have become scarce, we should embrace agriculture. We should embrace agriculture as a way of empowering ourselves and also remember that it is the backbone for the country’s economy,” he noted.
The Nyahururu sub-county Deputy County Commissioner (DCC), Patrick Muli said that the youth empowerment centre will help the youth grow their talents and urged them to utilize it fully.
By David Njoroge
