MWEA-TEBERE IRRIGATION SCHEME

Aims of the scheme

Availability of permanent water sources e.g. River Nyamindi, Thiba and Tana to provide water for irrigation.
The gently sloping landscape i.e. the piedmont plain on the lower slopes of mountain Kenya allowing irrigation by gravity flow.
The presence of fertile black volcanic soils for cotton and red clay soils which support rice growing.
Availability of extensive tracts of land which was sparsely populated hence providing free land for the project.

The area receives low and unreliable rainfall of 750mm per annum which favors irrigation.
Supportive government policy of setting up irrigation schemes to develop remote areas of Mwea-Tebere.
Availability of adequate capital for investment e.g. to purchase farm inputs and tools to be used for farming.
Availability of ready market both local and international for the farm produce.
Availability of well developed transport lines e.g. Nairobi-Nyeri railway line for delivering rice to markets.
Presence of landless people who were ready to be recruited and provide cheap labour to work on the scheme.

Source of food especially rice for human consumption.
Provided employment opportunities to the farmers hence improving their standards of living.
The project has helped to re-settle people who were formally landless.
The project has led to improvement in the infrastructure e.g. roads which has improved transport in the area.
Flooding of the rivers has been controlled hence improving the safety of lives of the people around.
Its a source of government revenue through taxes used to develop infrastructures e.g. roads.
It has led to improvement in research hence resulting into high crop yielding varieties.

The project led to effective utilization of the land which could have remained idle hence reducing resource wastage.
It has led to development of processing industries which have led to urbanisation e.g. the rice mill at Mwea-Tebere.
Infrastructural development has led to urbanisation e.g. Thiba and Embu towns.
It has led to large scale output hence encouraging exports leading to acquisition of foreign exchange by government.

Pests which destroy stored crops leading to losses e.g. rice weevils.
Diseases also destroy crops leading to low output e.g. rice blast and rice rust.
Price fluctuations due to over production which discourage the farmers from further production.
Weather changes which affect the output e.g. cool temperatures and heavy storms which destroy the crops.
Reduction in soil fertility due to monoculture leading to low output.
Weeds which compete with crops for soil nutrients leading to low quality output.

Limited capital for further investment which also leads to reduced output.
Soil salination due to high evaporation rates in the area leading to low output.
Inadequate labour force especially during the harvesting period which brings activities to a standstill.
Silting of canals which cause floods leading to destruction of farmlands.

Spraying of crops by using pesticides to avoid pests and diseases.
Price control by government and production by quota system to avoid price fluctuation at the world market.
Research on better rice varieties to increase production and quality.
Applying fertilizers and manure to increase soil fertility and ensure high productivity.

Use of herbicides to control weeds and reduce competition for soil nutrients.
Weather studies are emphasized to reduce effects of weather destruction.
Diversification of agriculture to reduce over reliance on rice growing e.g. introduction of cotton and peas.
Encouraging mechanization to solve the problem of labour shortage especially during harvesting.
Acquiring loans from banks to provide large capital base for farm operations.

De-silting and dredging of canals to control floods and ensure proper flow of water.