Hungary backs US$5M solar irrigation project in Kisumu,Kenya

KENYA – Kenya has started work on a US$5 million project in Kisumu County that will convert the Ahero irrigation scheme to solar power and expand rice farming in the region.

The Government of Kenya launched the Kobong’o irrigation project on February 26 with funding of KSh650 million, equal to US$5 million, from Hungary. The project will modernise and extend the Ahero irrigation scheme, the country’s second largest rice-growing area after Mwea.

The National Irrigation Authority will convert the Ahero pumping station into a hybrid system powered by a 500-kilowatt solar plant. The plan will add 400 hectares under irrigation. Officials expect to complete the works within 26 months, by February 2027.

Eric Mugaa, Cabinet Secretary for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, said the project will create jobs and raise farm incomes. “It is expected to create 5,000 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs and generate about KSh250 million [US$1.9 million] per year once fully operational,” he said. He added that the gains support the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, which aims to raise farm output and cut food imports.

Boost for local rice production

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that Ahero produced 32,768 tonnes of paddy rice in the 2023 to 2024 season. This accounted for about 11 percent of national output, which reached 293,627 tonnes.

National rice production has grown in recent years. KNBS data shows that paddy output rose from 192,473 tonnes in 2020 to 290,447 tonnes in 2024, a 51 percent increase. Even so, local supply still falls short of demand. Trade Map data shows that Kenya imported 897,977 tonnes of milled rice worth about US$504.8 million, making it the largest rice importer in East Africa.

Wider irrigation drive gains pace

The Kisumu project forms part of a broader irrigation plan. In his State of the Nation address on November 20, 2025, President William Ruto said the government aims to expand irrigated land to nearly one million hectares between 2030 and 2032. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that Kenya had about 288,000 hectares equipped for irrigation in 2023.

In January 2026, Kenya also signed a KSh40 billion, equal to US$250 million, contract with China Communications Construction Company Limited for the Galana Kulalu Athi Dam in Tana River and Kilifi counties. The National Irrigation Authority said the dam will hold 305 million cubic metres of water and supply up to one billion cubic metres each year, enough to irrigate 300,000 acres for at least two seasons.

Officials say these projects will help stabilise food supply

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