- Soy farmers are set to benefit from a new irrigation project commissioned by President William Ruto.
- Plans are underway to expand the scheme and bring thousands more acres under irrigation
- The project is expected to open new opportunities for farmers beyond traditional rain-fed agriculture.
President William Ruto has commissioned the Ziwa 2 Earth Dam Irrigation Project in Soy Constituency, Uasin Gishu County, in a move expected to boost agricultural production, improve farmers’ incomes and strengthen food security in the region.
The project will initially bring 500 acres of farmland under irrigation, benefiting 1,000 direct beneficiaries and an estimated 5,000 other residents through expanded agricultural activity and related economic opportunities.
The scheme is designed to reduce farmers’ dependence on rainfall by providing a more reliable water supply for crop production, allowing them to diversify their crops and plan their farming activities more consistently.
At the centre of the project is a rehabilitated earth dam with a storage capacity of one million cubic metres of water. The infrastructure includes two solar-powered pumping systems and two storage tanks, each with a capacity of 100 cubic metres.
Water will be conveyed to Kerotet through a three-kilometre pipeline and to Saramek through a 3.3-kilometre line, supported by distribution networks measuring 26 kilometres and 34 kilometres, respectively.
The project is substantially complete, with full connections for farmers across the current distribution network expected to be finalised by the end of November 2026.
Farmers will grow staple crops such as maize and beans alongside high-value horticultural produce, including spinach, kale, tomatoes, onions and passion fruit.
According to the project projections, the irrigated farms are expected to generate an average annual income of Ksh200,000 per acre, translating to a combined gross annual revenue of approximately Ksh100 million when all 500 acres are in production.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
The projected earnings are expected to create opportunities for farmers to expand their operations while supporting businesses involved in farm inputs, transport, produce trading and marketing.
Beyond infrastructure development, the next phase will focus on training farmers, strengthening Irrigation Water Users Associations (IWUAs), promoting agribusiness and establishing market linkages to help growers sell their produce.
Plans are also underway for a proposed Ksh360 million Phase II expansion that would extend irrigation to an additional 2,000 acres and target 4,000 households.
The expansion would significantly increase the project’s reach, opening up more land for commercial farming and potentially creating further opportunities for rural employment and household income growth.
The National Irrigation Authority, which oversees the development and rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure, has identified Ziwa 2 as one of several irrigation and drought-mitigation projects being implemented in Uasin Gishu County.
During an inspection in March 2026, the authority reported that the project was progressing towards its target of irrigating 500 acres and supporting 1,000 farmers.
The project aligns with Kenya Vision 2030 and the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which identifies agricultural productivity, food security and improved household incomes as key development priorities.
With the remaining farmer connections expected to be completed in November, attention will now turn to ensuring that the infrastructure translates into productive farms, reliable markets and sustainable returns for the local community.
By Lizzy Aluga
Get more stories from our website: Sacco Review.
For comments and clarifications, write to: Saccoreview@
Kindly follow us via our social media pages on Facebook: Sacco Review Newspaper for timely updates
Stay ahead of the pack! Grab the latest Sacco Review newspaper!
