Farmers dry harvested paddy rice at Bunyala Irrigation Scheme. The governmnet has embarked on expansion of the scheme. Photo:Steve Biko/KTMN
Bunyala Irrigation Scheme is one of the seven public schemes in Kenya started in 1969.
Located in Busia andSiaya counties, the scheme sources its waters from River Nzoia through pumping and flows by gravity through open earth channels to the farms.
Its main crop has been paddy rice that is suitable for the region.
The scheme has had 534 acres under irrigation from 1969 up to 2006. In 2007, the National Irrigation Authority started an expansion to boost food production in the area. Due to increased demand for rice, two new pump sets were installed in 2005 and two more in 2007.
This brought the combined discharge to 1.2 cubic meters per second which later increased to 6 cubic meters per second currently. The canals were also widened, an intervention that has grown the acreage to more than 3,200 in the main scheme and other expansion areas such as Muluwa, Nemali, Munaka, Luwamoro, Nanjomi, Buhowa, Siamungu Nandikiny, Magavera, and Ruambwa by 2022.
The scheme has a potential of 20,000 acres (on both banks of River Nzoia) with more than 20,000 direct beneficiaries spreading over Busia and Siaya counties.
It was part of Western Kenya schemes (Ahero, West Kano and South West Kano) until 2014 when the Authority granted it autonomy so as to ensure effective management and seamless delivery of irrigation services.
Currently, the National Irrigation Authority is implementing Lower Nzoia Irrigation Development Project with the aim of shifting from pump-fed to gravity irrigation, which is cheaper. Once completed, the project will support Bunyala Irrigation Scheme farmers with enough water for irrigation through gravity and support an additional 10,000 acres of rice production. Once the project is complete, the full potential of 20,000 acres will be realized.
According to the Scheme Manager, Engineer Peter Orua,Bunyala is working on a two cropping program per year. The scheme is also working on an alternative legumes crop within the 12-month period alongside rice. The alternative crop will add yields to the farmer, thereby increasing their income and help in fixing of the soils from pest related to rice.
Engineer Peter Orua says the the expansion is going to add more acreage to the scheme and this will also increase the number of farmers benefiting from the scheme.
He added that the newly constructed water pump is not using electricity but using gravitational force to pump water into the farms hence will also reduce the cost of electricity the scheme pays to Kenya power and reduce the cost of water the farmers pays to the scheme.
He also urged the farmers to grow a rice variety which is having a ready market and also to divasify on other crops such legumes to increase the food production within the scheme.” As part of the president agenda of food security in the country,we at National Irrigation Authority are working on how the scheme can improve the lives of the community by making sure that the farmers grow other alternative crops such legumes to curb food insecurity in the region and this will only work when we expand the the number of acreage within the scheme to allow more farmers get the benefits of the scheme” Said Eng.Peter.
Bunyala as one of the schemes in kenya uses water from River Nzoia for its irrigation purpose and the newly constructed canal along River Nzoia is going to give Bunyala e new look with more farmers being incorporated due to sufficient water that will be supplied to the farmers.
The scheme is currently doing 6 cubic meters per second which is going to increased to 11 cubic metres per second when the project of lower Nzoia is finished and this according to Engineer Peter Orua will increase the the production of the crops to the farmers.
“We are currently having 3000 farmers under Bunyala irrigation scheme and when the project of lower Nzoia is completed we will increase the number of farmers to 12600 who will directly benefit from the schemes expansion,” he said.
Mr. William Juma who is the chairman of the farmers within Bunyala irrigation scheme says they have been getting much support from the scheme’s management and this has enhanced their crop production as compared to the previous years where the productions was low.
He also urged the government to continue supporting farmers more so with the subsidized fertilizers that they started giving the farmers but only request that the government should bring the right fertilizer meant for rice.
” We are very much appreciative for the subsidized fertilizers brought by the government but what we request them to bring us the right fertilizer for the rice production that is Urea and Ammonia which will help the farmers produce rice in large quantities”, Said William.
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