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Ephantus Kimotho (left) with Portuguese Ambassador Paulo Neves Pocinho during talks at the Embassy of Portugal in Nairobi.
Kenya is courting Portugal for financing and private investment to bring one million additional acres under irrigation, targeting non-traditional partners to fund its agricultural transformation.
Irrigation Principal Secretary Ephantus Kimotho held talks with Portuguese Ambassador Paulo Neves Pocinho at the Embassy of Portugal in Nairobi on Friday, seeking technical support, investment partnerships and knowledge exchange to advance the National Irrigation Sector Investment Plan (NISIP).
Central to the discussions was Kenya's interest in tapping Portugal's Small Projects Fund to finance community-based irrigation schemes, a mechanism that could channel direct support to smallholder farmers in areas where large-scale investment has historically bypassed rural households.
