President William Ruto has said the government has prioritised the construction and expansion of dams to boost the agriculture sector in the country.
Ruto said the dams hold immense power to stimulate food production as it cuts over-reliance on rain-fed agriculture.
"If we produce more food, it means more earnings for our farmers and more jobs for our youth," he said.
The Sh18 billion project set to be completed in August 2026 will provide water to irrigate at least 7,000 acres of land in Kwale producing Sh1.3 billion worth of food a year.
Ruto said the dam will supply more than 230 million litres of water a day for both irrigation and domestic use.
"This will benefit at least 1.6 million people in Kwale and Mombasa counties,” he said.
Ruto said the number is expected to go up to two million by 2030.
He said the government plans to build 100 large and 1,000 small dams, thereby increasing the acreage under irrigation from the current 670,000 to three million.
"Irrigation is the most transformational intervention we can undertake in agriculture,” he said.
He spoke on Thursday in Fulugani, Kwale County, during the ground-breaking of the construction of the Mwache Dam.
Leaders present include Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi, Water CS Alice Wahome, Public Service CS Aisha Jumwa, Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs CS Salim Mvurya, Governors Fatuma Achani (Kwale), Abdullswamad Nassir (Mombasa) and Andrew Mwadime (Taita Taveta) among other leaders.
