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Principal Secretary for Irrigation Ephantus Kimotho addresses residents during a public participation forum on the proposed Lake Baringo irrigation project in Baringo County. [Courtesy]
The government has launched public participation on a plan to divert excess Lake Baringo water for irrigation, targeting 100,000 jobs and 100,000 irrigated acres while preventing neighbouring lakes from merging.
Principal Secretary for Irrigation Ephantus Kimotho and Principal Secretary for Defence Patrick Mariru led a site inspection of Lake Bogoria and Lake Baringo before engaging residents in Baringo County on the proposal, which officials say could generate close to Sh40 billion for the local economy and is a long-term response to rising lake levels linked to climate change.
The plan involves building a 5-kilometre dyke at Lake Bogoria to stop its saline water from mixing with the fresh water of Lake Baringo. Engineers would then channel excess water from Lake Baringo through tunnels and a network of canals to irrigate about 100,000 acres in Baringo and potentially Turkana counties, under a private sector investment model.
