Ali AwDoll
Kenya’s long-stalled dream of agricultural self-sufficiency took a decisive step forward this weekend as President William Ruto announced the country’s first maize harvest from the revived Galana-Kulalu Food Security Project, signaling what officials hailed as a “turning point” in the fight against hunger.
Under the blazing coastal sun, combine harvesters rolled through 330 acres of maize on Saturday, the first yield from the project’s 1,500-acre demonstration farm straddling the border of Kilifi and Tana River counties. Each acre is projected to produce 28 to 30 bags of high-quality seed maize, translating to roughly 9,000 bags from the initial phase alone.
Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eric Mugaa, who led the harvesting ceremony, joined farmers and engineers in the fields, briefly taking the controls of a harvester to mark what he called “the rebirth of Galana-Kulalu.”
“There is a time to plant and a time to harvest,” Mugaa said. “The maize we sowed in May is now being harvested — proof that this land can feed our nation if managed properly.”
The success comes after years of stagnation for a project once derided as a “ghost scheme.” Launched more than a decade ago under Kenya’s Vision 2030 blueprint, Galana-Kulalu — a 1.2 million-acre irrigation project — had languished amid mismanagement, drought, and funding shortfalls.
Revival Through Partnerships
President Ruto breathed new life into the project during his 2023 visit and a follow-up inspection in May 2025, spearheading a public-private partnership with Israeli agrotech firm Selu Africa. The partnership has injected Sh519 million into critical infrastructure, including a 753-meter inlet canal, a 450-million-liter reservoir, modern pumping systems, and two auxiliary dams capable of storing 620,000 cubic meters of water for year-round irrigation.
“This proves that Kenya can produce enough food to feed itself, reduce our import bill of over Sh500 billion, and achieve self-reliance,” Ruto said in his announcement, linking the project to his Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
Scaling Up Production
The current harvest is just the start. Officials project that by December, cultivation will expand to 5,400 acres under 20 irrigation pivots, up from the existing nine, with another 11 to be activated next year. The medium-term goal is to develop 10,000 acres under full irrigation, ultimately scaling to 200,000 acres once the planned Galana Dam is completed.
At full capacity, the project could yield up to 14 million bags of maize annually — more than enough to close Kenya’s persistent deficit of 10–15 million bags and eliminate the need for costly imports. Even this season’s harvest alone could deliver over 40,000 bags to national reserves, providing a much-needed cushion against food inflation and climate shocks.
Local Impact and Economic Renewal
Beyond boosting food supplies, Galana-Kulalu is transforming livelihoods in Kenya’s underdeveloped coastal hinterlands. More than 500 local residents are now employed as operators, field technicians, and farm laborers — gaining skills in modern irrigation and agronomy while earning steady incomes.
“This initiative supports livelihoods, stabilizes the shilling, and fuels agro-based industries through steady raw material supply,” Mugaa said. “It’s proof that irrigated agriculture can thrive even in drought-prone areas.”
National Assembly Blue Economy and Irrigation Committee Chairperson Kangogo Bowen lauded Parliament’s Sh123 million allocation this fiscal year for further infrastructure, pledging to push legislation that will attract additional private investment and protect the project from political interference.
A Symbol of Renewal
As harvesters rumbled and maize stacks grew across the plains of Galana, optimism rippled through nearby communities long accustomed to broken promises. For the residents of Kilifi and Tana River, the sight of full granaries is more than symbolic — it’s the return of hope to once barren land.
“We’ve watched this project rise and fall for years,” said one local farmer. “Now, for the first time, we can see it working.”
With Ruto’s agricultural revival strategy taking tangible form, Kenya edges closer to a future where no acre lies idle and no family goes hungry — turning Galana-Kulalu from a failed promise into a living symbol of renewal.