Mwingi farmers reap big from irrigation

Mwingi farmers living along River Thunguthu in Kyuso ward have embraced irrigation farming to increase food security in the semi-arid area.

Kitui county is characterised by low food production, poor resilience to climate change and water scarcity.

Recurring droughts have diminished water supply, rendering many rivers seasonal while others have dried completely.

Farmers have resorted to irrigation in Mwingi North along River Thunguthu where they grow vegetables, mangoes and maize.

Agnes Muthui, a farmer along the seasonal river, said they have formed agricultural cooperatives and are provided with seeds by the county government of Kitui to boost production.

 Muthui said since she began serious agribusiness through irrigation her livelihood has improved thus eradicating poverty.

The farmers were faced with the problem of lack of market and lost some of their products following the ban on international flights due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Peter Mulwa Mwinzi who shifted from growing maize and tomatoes to chillies for export said he has been reaping a fortune from the crop he harvests every two weeks.

Mulwa sells one kilo of chillies for between Sh100 to Sh125 right in his farm, thus not incurring transport costs.

“I decided to venture into chilli farming after I discovered that it was more profitable and it does not flood the market like maize, tomatoes, mangoes and other farm products,” Mulwa said.

Mulwa started the new venture last November and by March he was harvesting the chillies.

Two weeks ago, he sold 135kg at Sh100 a kilo.

Some of the farmers water their produce manually while others have sunk wells on the river bed to ensure a constant supply of water.

Kitui extension officer in charge of Water and Livestock development Titus Masila urged farmers who are near rivers to make good use of them through irrigation to increase food production in the area.

He further urged the farmers to collect runoff during the rainy season and use the water to grow their crops.

Masila said the farmers should encourage others to venture into horticultural production to sustain the market and provide quality products.

Kitui value chain addition specialist Dr Temi Mutia said that the county government has partnered with Jkuat to make chilli and tomato sauce.

Farmers have been incurring losses after some of their products like tomatoes overripen. We are working with Jkuat to ensure value is added to all the products for the farmers to get more money,” Mutia said.

Temi spoke at Kyuso where he had visited the farmers together with other agricultural officers.

Edited by Henry Makori