Background
National Irrigation Board (NIB) was established and incorporated in 1966 as a state corporation through the Irrigation Act CAP 347 of the Laws of Kenya. The Act provides its original object as; “To provide for development, control and improvement of irrigation schemes and for purposes incidental thereto and connected therewith”. The transformative Constitution of Kenya 2010 (CoK2010) has changed the legal, statutory, operational and management context of irrigation. This had been furthered in the Medium-Term Plan III (MTPIII) of the Kenya Vision 2030(KV2030) and cascaded in the NIB strategic plan 2013-2017.
As per the act, NIB manages seven public schemes in Kenya namely Mwea, Bura, Tana, Ahero, West Kano, Perkerra and Bunyala irrigation schemes. These public schemes are developed on land held in trust by NIB for the Government. In addition, NIB runs two (2) research stations namely Mwea Irrigation Agricultural Development (MIAD) Centre and Ahero Irrigation Research Station and two (2) subsidiaries namely Mwea Rice Mills Ltd (MRM) and Western Kenya Rice Mills (WKRM).
In line with the Constitution of Kenya 2010 (CoK2010), NIB is obligated not only to be responsible for undertaking irrigation development within the seven schemes but to also widen the delivery of its services all over the Republic of Kenya. In pursuit of delivering its statutory and constitutional mandate, NIB is therefore implementing numerous development projects across the Country under the various initiatives that include: –
- Flagship irrigation projects that include: –
- Mwea Irrigation Development Project.
- Galana Kulalu Food Security Project (GKFSP).
- Bura Irrigation Rehabilitation Project,
- Development of water storage dams for irrigation and other purposes
- National Expanded Irrigation Program (ENIP) that comprises of both large scale and smallholder community management projects.
- Development of household water pans for small scale irrigation
- Rehabilitation, expansion and operation of public irrigation schemes.
Our Vision
Water to every irrigable acre
Our Mission
Provide water for sustainable farming through development rehabilitation,modernization and promotion of irrigation and drainage for improved livelihoods, food security and economic growth in Kenya.
