It is early morning in the wee hours and a team of science journalists in East Africa set off from Nairobi Kenya to Nyadarua County in central Kenya which is four hours’ drive from Nairobi on a fact finding visit.

Upon arrival on a main water supply facility namely Sasumua Dam with its main water source flowing from Chania River originating from the mountain ranges, the situation looks dire because the dry spell is serious as seen from the looks of the agricultural initiatives from farmer fields.

Background

A quick look at the farming communities practicing agriculture in arid and Semi-Arid areas in Sub Saharan Africa is a huge challenge with most of the interventions done by developmental partners such as Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in partnership with Ministries of Agriculture in various countries.

In most cases development partners implement solutions geared towards adoption of irrigation technology during prolonged drought periods but access water facility can be a challenge

The statistical data provided by the ministry of Agriculture in the National Irrigation Policy indicates that irrigated land produces 40% of global food (IFAD, 2015).

Currently, Uganda’s ratio of cultivated area under irrigation to the irrigation potential is only 0.5%.

This compares lowly to 3.6% for Tanzania and 2.0% for Kenya. The comfort of receiving rains to sustain two cropping seasons in a year has provided little incentive to Government to invest extensively in irrigation.

Little attention has been accorded to technological and human capacity development in irrigation.

Despite the advantages that the country holds in the ease of undertaking irrigation development, the potential has not been harnessed.

Uganda’s rain-fed agriculture has progressively been constrained by frequent threats of actual occurrence of, droughts and floods affecting efforts for increased production

Uganda’s vulnerability to climate change is worsened by a rapidly growing population, a factor that has increased pressure on natural resources mainly wetlands and forest covers leading to environmental degradation.

However Ugandan farmers are not worse off than their counterparts in Kenya because we have several sources of water which farmers can tap to practice farming even during dry season

As such Seeds of Gold got the opportunity to interact with farmers in Nyandarua County in Kenya as to how they are able to practice farming despite the dire situation of lack of water for the communities living in the country and below are the details.

What are four sources of agricultural water?

In Sub Saharan Africa including Uganda typical sources of agricultural water include surface water which are categorised as rivers, streams and irrigation ditches including open canals impounded water such as ponds, reservoirs and lakes.

Others groundwater from wells, harvested rainwater, locally collected water in containers, tanks and rain barrels.

There are four main areas of water use in agriculture which include for growing of crops, through irrigation, supplying drinking water to livestock, cleaning farm buildings and animals and supplying drinking water for those who work on the farm.

Kenya Farmer experience

How the farmers are denied water from the main water supply facility

Ms Philis Wanjiru is a seasoned mixed farmer practicing agriculture on her two and half acres of land located to the main water supply Sasumua Dam in Nyandarua County which she is unable to access.

She grows mainly vegetables which include cabbages and Sukuma Wiki, Hass avocado and Straw berry and Irish Potatoes. She is also keeping two Diary cattle for milk collection which is a practice in most farmers in the area.

Ms Wanjiru is a Primary Seven School leaver and since 1980 when she got married she has been practicing farm.

She contends that farming in Kenya is not easy at all due to water scarcity in the country. The water supply which is half a km from her farm does not supply water to farmers in her village because the water facility is owned by the main water supply in Nairobi with mandate to supply water for residents of Nairobi

However in 2015 the residents formed none governmental organisation Nyandarua water and conservation Fund which embarks on sensitizing farmers on conserving the environment through tree planting and rain water catchment for agriculture.

Ms Wanjru is part of this group and having attended several sensitization meetings with the organisation management, she has been able to construct a water facility on her farm for storing rain water which she uses for irrigating her vegetables.

She also constructed an underground borehole which is major supply of water in her home which uses for her agricultural initiatives where she able to grow her vegetables and fruits throughout the year.

Ms Wanjiru has four children whom she has educated jointly with her husband who is a mechanic. Her first born is a medical doctor by profession and the rest of the children are all qualified in various academic disciplines.

Her current farming activity is for earning a living as a family and most her harvests are sold to clients living in Nairobi City because the middlemen come to purchase her produce on farm which is marketed in Nairobi.

Joms Farm

The second farmer Seeds of Gold visited is owned by Peter Mongi Joroge located in Southern part of Nyandarua County.

Joroge started practicing farming in 1984 after completing his studies by obtaining certificate in agricultural studies

He has apportioned his two acre land where he is growing pine trees, Maize, Irish potatoes, cabbages, napier grass and Apples.

The water scarcity is more acute in his village compared to other areas because the entire community is depending on a small dam which supplies water for farmers in the entire village including for animals.

He has been able to purchase a tank which can store 50,000 liters of water as reservoir which he uses strictly during dry season.

He notes that during rain season he able to grow a number of fruits ranging from straw berry, Hass Avocado and Apples which he says fetches high income In a good season he is able to earn income worth 1500 US Dollars or more but in dry season it is difficult to earn 500 US dollars form all the agricultural produce combined.

There is a huge challenge of the crops such as maize and Napier grass getting burnt as a result of frost because the area is extremely cold and in winter it is covered with snow.

Water supply for community and for environment conservation    

Mr Peter Mironga the Coordinator of Sasumua Dam explained that the water facility his team is managing is strictly for supplying clean water to Nairobi residents

It was established between 1948 and 1956 here the water supplying the dam comes from Anadea Mount ranges with water source from River Kiburu and Chania

The first phase is able to pump 15.91 cubic meters per day while the second phase constructed between 1961 and 1968 pumps 635 cubic meters per day.

There are three dams in total supplying Nairobi and Sasumua dam contributes 11% of the water supply

The dam is 41 meters deep but during dry season it sallow and already the team is praying hard for rains to drop otherwise the dam is soon running dry.

What Mironga and team for done for the community is to team up with the conservationists sensitizing farmers in the county to store enough rain water and establish boreholes in their homesteads to ensure there is constant water for home use and for farming .

Ugandan Situations

Apparently Uganda’s cattle corridor area from Western Uganda stretching through central Uganda in the districts of Mubende and Nakasongola which are affected most through to Karamoja region are the priority areas ministry of agriculture and minstry of water are focusing on with developmental partners

In the current irrigation policy is two ministries have a commitment of availing water to farming communities to carry put irrigation

 In line with Uganda’s international commitments including the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063 and the Vision 2040 notes that: “the Uganda aspires to transform agriculture from subsistence to commercial agriculture through both mechanization and introduction of modern irrigation systems”.

To undertake this ambition, Government will invest in both micro, medium and large scale irrigation systems as public investments to mitigate challenges related to water shortages mainly as a result of prolonged droughts and provide much needed relief to farmers.

Well managed irrigation can mitigate effects of climate change and increase yields by 2-5 times for most crops.

With developed improved irrigation infrastructure and water management, paddy rice yields on an average can increase from 1.8 tons per hectare to 4.5 tons per hectare.

In other trials, irrigation enhanced maize production from 2.0 tons per hectare to 8 tons; 15.6 tons for vegetables to over 30 tons per hectare, on average and in just two seasons

It stated in the Policy that Uganda has one the highest irrigation potential in the world with over 15% of her surface area covered by fresh water resources.

The sum of the external and internal renewable surface water resources the average annual river flow generated from precipitation in Uganda amounts to 43.3 billion cubic meters per year, while the dependence ratio for proportion that originates outside the country is about 69% as of 2013.

The present utilization rate of the internal renewable water resource is low about 2.8%. The utilization rate of the entire renewable surface water resources stood at 0.01% as of 2013.

If the full irrigation potential was to be exploited, the demand for water would be increased by over 400%by 2030 translating into a utilization rate of renewable surface water resource of 0.05%.

Aware of both the challenges and opportunities, Government has elaborated this Policy to direct the implementation of irrigation interventions to ensure optimal use of available land and water resources for agricultural production and productivity to contribute effectively towards food security, wealth and employment creation, and export promotion.