Lamu, KENYA: The county government of Lamu has stepped up mitigations to ensure food security by setting up mini-rural irrigation schemes in areas worst hit by the ravaging drought in the county.
This is more so because the ongoing drought that has left many without adequate food and water.
Speaking over the weekend,Lamu governor Issa Timamy said the schemes have been set up at Witu,Mkunumbi,Basuba,Moa,Chalaluma and Maleli which are considered worst hit.
Timamy said the irrigation schemes seek to link villages through nearest possible water sources in order to transform the lives.
The governor said added that his administration had injected Sh.14 Million into the project that is also expected to save communities from poverty.
Timamy said in order to make agricultural production more sustainable,the county government is empowering farmers to venture into irrigated crop production adding that the projects are expected to cover over 50 acres using water sources from Lake Moa and Lake Amu.
“We want as a county to move towards sustainable food production using irrigation and of course is the will is there all this is possible after all some places that are worse than Lamu have made it and are safer in as far as food security is concerned,” said Timamy.
The County government had also began distributing farm inputs, including quality seeds and fertilizers to farmers in various parts of the county but the plan was cut short by the ravaging drought which has been experienced in the region for the past six months.
Early this year, the county government of Lamu launched a relief food distribution worth Sh 10 million to residents in villages hard hit by drought which saw over 50,000 households reached by the food aid.
