The irrigation fund will pool together funds that will be channelled towards development of new irrigations infrastructure and increasing more land for irrigation.
– The Policy is looking at irrigation farming beyond consumption by putting in place strategies that will enhance the growing of more crops for the market. Particularly, the policy states that it will support the migration of farmer organizations from subsistence to commercialization in a well-coordinated and harmonized manner whilst also providing for new innovative business models and approaches for profitable irrigation farming.
Considers environmental, health and social parameters in the planning, design, construction, modernisation, upgrading and rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure to put more land under irrigation with due consideration to economic viability, environmental protection and social equity. The policy calls on irrigation stakeholders to ensure that irrigation development undertaken meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Aims at adopting practices that will ensure sustainable and profitable utilization of land and water resources as well as irrigation infrastructure. The policy recognises that management of irrigation projects is faced with a number of challenges. Among them; degradation of catchment areas hence affecting availability of water resources; beneficiary community unwillingness or capacity limitations to operate and maintain the systems resulting in underutilisation of developed area; lack of transparency and accountability in the management of scheme’s resources; marketing challenges for irrigated produce; land tenure issues, and inadequate irrigation extension services among others.
The development and management of irrigation schemes require adequate technical and administrative capacity among others. The technical competence within the public and private sectors including training institutions and beneficiary communities is critical for sustainable irrigation development and management. The main capacity challenges include undocumented training needs for irrigation stakeholders; low literacy levels; limited adherence to national irrigation standards, code of practice and guidelines for irrigation development; inadequate availability of irrigation expertise; poor linkages between irrigation research and extension; short supply of equipment, plant and irrigation software; and, inadequate irrigation service providers.
The policy objectives
Annually the policy aims to increase the following – land under sustainable irrigation farming to at least 6,000 hectares, volume of high value irrigated export crops by 20%, number of irrigation practitioners with technical capacity by 10%, investment in sustainable irrigation development by 20% and commercially oriented irrigation groups by 10% among other policy objectives.
Guiding Principles
The policy will be guided by a number of principles that include striving for efficiency, high return on investment, environmental sustainability, resourcefulness, innovation and adaptability, team work and collaboration and transparency and accountability and mindset change.