Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Cabinet secretary Felix Koskei. FILE
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Felix Koskei said concentrating on the Galana Ranch scheme would instead put 1.2 million acres of land under irrigation by the time Jubilee’s first term ends in 2017.
The cabinet secretary announced tenders for feasibility study, planning and costing of the Galana/Kalulu food security project.
The department of agriculture has abandoned the path charted by Vision 2030 and zeroed in on the Galana/Kalulu Ranch project in a bid to beat the Jubilee government’s promise of putting one million acres of land under irrigation.
Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Cabinet secretary Felix Koskei said concentrating on the Galana Ranch scheme would instead put 1.2 million acres of land under irrigation by the time Jubilee’s first term ends in 2017.
“It is clear that one million acres can be obtained from just one project and it is for this reason that we have embarked on steps that will lead to development of this important resource,” Mr Kokei told a press briefing in his office on Monday.
He announced tenders for feasibility study, planning and costing of the Galana/Kalulu food security project.
Ministry officials are only expected to lay the groundwork for the project, paving way for the private sector to invest Sh250 billion required under the public private partnership arrangement.
Under the Vision 2030 route, the government had set itself a less ambitious target of putting 80,000 acres under irrigation each year, which would mean a time line of 12.5 years from July 2013 (start of Jubilee’s first financial year) to develop one million acres.
Given that the country has developed just 450,000 acres of its estimated potential three million irrigation potential since independence 50 years ago, Jubilee opted for the 45-year-old project to cut the Vision 2030 timeline by seven years.
On Monday, Mr Koskei said that the agriculture department was already negotiating with Tana River and Kilifi governors to expand Galana Ranch to a fully irrigated scheme.
“Galana Ranch has the potential of being a major contributor to both the coast region and national economy by providing jobs and triggering a multiplier effect on commerce, industry and services,” said Mr Koskei.
The 1.75 million-acre ranch was established in 1968 as a game and trading company before being acquired by the government through the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) to provide a buffer zone between Tsavo National Park and surrounding communities.
The ADC has been using it as a camping site, for beef ranching, off-take management during drought as well as the production of biogas.
Under the Jubilee government’s plan, 500,000 acres of the ranch will be put under maize, 300,000 acres under sugarcane and 200,000 acres under beef and game animals.
Another 150,000 acres will be used for horticulture production, 100,000 acres will serve as a dairy farm, while the remaining 50,000 acres will be put under fruits such as mangoes and guavas.
