Galana Kulalu’s KSh 12.5 Billion Boost Sparks New Era for Food Security

By Victor Oyuko 

It began as an idea. An ambitious plan whispered in government boardrooms and discussed in hushed tones among farmers; transforming Galana Kulalu from a dry, windswept expanse into one of Kenya’s most productive farmlands. For years, it seemed too big, too costly, too ambitious to bring to life. But last Friday, something remarkable happened. The ground under that vision shifted. The future came into sharper focus.

The Principal Secretary for the National Treasury, Dr. Chris Kiptoo, together with the Director General of the Public Private Partnership Directorate, Mr. Kefa Seda, stepped onto the project site. They were hosted by Irrigation PS Ephantus Kimotho, who had been guiding this vision with a quiet but steady hand. The visit was not ceremonial. It was a checkpoint in a story of transformation; proof that the work was moving from paper to soil, from plans to produce.

The Reservoir That Changed the Equation

For Galana Kulalu, water was always the make-or-break factor. Without it, the land would remain idle. With it, it could become one of the most fertile regions in East Africa.

The centrepiece of the visit was the 600,000 cubic metre water reservoir; an engineering achievement that now stood ready to irrigate 10,000 acres of farmland. That single piece of infrastructure changed everything. It sent a message to investors that the project was not just a dream. It was real.

It was also the spark that unlocked KSh 12.5 billion in private investment from SELU Ltd. That money was already being channelled into storage facilities, irrigation works, and internal farm roads. These roads would ensure that once the maize, fodder, and other produce left the fields, they would move efficiently to markets, cutting down post-harvest losses and improving the livelihoods of thousands.

Public-Private Partnerships in Action

Kenya’s infrastructure ambitions have often been constrained by one simple reality; public funds alone cannot carry the load. Dr. Kiptoo made this point clear. The Galana Kulalu Food Security Project was a case study in how public-private partnerships (PPPs) could bridge that gap.

Under the PPP arrangement, the project would put 20,000 acres under irrigation in its first full phase. With each acre expected to yield 70 bags of maize annually, the output would total 1.4 million bags a year. Valued at roughly KSh 5.6 billion annually, this was not just food security; it was economic transformation.

Beyond the numbers, there was a bigger picture. Galana Kulalu’s vast potential;1.5 million acres suitable for irrigation; meant this could be the blueprint for future agricultural expansion. If fully developed, it could lift farm incomes, boost foreign exchange earnings, and create thousands of jobs for Kenya’s young people.

The Progress Already on the Ground

The visit came at a time when the project was already rolling out its second phase, known as Phase 1B. This stage covered 1,700 acres, pushing the total area under seed maize cultivation to 3,200 acres in 2025. By next year, the figure was projected to hit 4,500 acres, steadily working toward the 20,000-acre target.

Farmers in the region were beginning to feel the shift. Land that had long been written off as unproductive was now green with young maize plants. The irrigation canals, storage silos, and farm roads were no longer abstract ideas; they were physical realities that could be touched and walked upon.

A New Chapter: Beyond Maize

While maize remained the anchor crop, the Galana Kulalu vision was bigger than one grain. A highlight of the Friday visit was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Al Dahra, the National Irrigation Authority (NIA), and the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC).

The agreement was not just a formality. It was a commitment to explore the development of 180,000 acres into diversified agricultural enterprises; fodder production, meat value chains, and more. This diversification would make the project more resilient, ensuring that a bad maize season would not cripple the entire scheme.

To make it possible, plans were already underway for a massive dam with a storage capacity of 306 million cubic metres. This would enable gravity-fed irrigation for 200,000 acres through roughly 60 kilometres of canals. The scale was staggering, but so was the potential impact.

Faces Behind the Vision

Big projects can feel faceless. But behind Galana Kulalu’s milestones are leaders and teams who keep the gears turning.

In addition to Dr. Kiptoo, Mr. Seda, and PS Ephantus Kimotho, the Friday visit brought together a team of senior figures: Mr. Joel Tanui, Secretary for Land Reclamation, Climate Resilience and Irrigation; Eng. Charles Muasya, CEO of the National Irrigation Authority; Eng. Jairus Serede of NIA; and Mr. Nicholas Ambani, CEO of SELU Ltd.

Their presence was not symbolic. It was a show of alignment; a sign that the Treasury, the Irrigation Department, private investors, and implementing agencies were pulling in the same direction.

Why Galana Kulalu Matters

Kenya’s food security challenges are no secret. The country has faced repeated cycles of drought, high food imports, and unstable prices. Large-scale irrigation projects have been discussed for decades, but few have moved forward at the scale and speed of Galana Kulalu.

What sets this project apart is its combination of ambition, financing innovation, and measurable progress. The numbers tell part of the story; billions in investment, thousands of acres under cultivation, and millions of bags of maize expected annually. But the deeper story is about changing the way Kenya thinks about agriculture.

By proving that drylands can be transformed into breadbaskets, Galana Kulalu challenges the idea that food security must rely solely on rain-fed farming. It offers a model that could be replicated in other arid and semi-arid regions.

Looking Ahead

The road ahead is still long. Irrigating 1.5 million acres will require not just funding but technical expertise, community engagement, and environmental stewardship. The success of the current phases will determine how much momentum the broader plan can sustain.

Yet last Friday’s visit felt like a turning point. The combination of political support, private investment, and technical progress gave the project a sense of inevitability. For the communities around Galana Kulalu, the message was clear: the future they had been promised was beginning to take root.

A Future Written in the Soil

There will be seasons of challenge. Markets will shift, weather patterns will test the irrigation systems, and political cycles will bring changes in priorities. But if the project holds steady, the 1.4 million bags of maize expected each year could be only the beginning.

For now, the sight of water flowing through the new irrigation works, the hum of machinery building farm roads, and the green shoots breaking through the soil tell their own story. A story of what happens when vision meets action, when public leadership meets private investment, and when a country decides to bet on itself.

Galana Kulalu is no longer just a place on the map. It is becoming a symbol of what Kenya can do when it looks beyond what is and dares to imagine what could be.

Article by Victor Patience Oyuko. To buy coffee: 0708883777