How PS Kimotho Is Reframing Irrigation Through Climate Finance

 

The Government has intensified its push to reposition irrigation as a central pillar of Kenya’s climate resilience and food security strategy, with a renewed focus on how water infrastructure, ecosystems, and finance intersect. This direction was clearly articulated during a high-level brainstorming engagement between the State Department for Irrigation, led by Principal Secretary CPA Ephantus Kimotho, and the leadership of CIFOR-ICRAF, headed by Director General and CEO Dr Éliane Ubalijoro. The discussion centred on a shared ambition to green Kenya’s six priority dams while unlocking climate finance and translating the country’s vast natural endowments into productive, climate-resilient agriculture.

At its core, the engagement reflected a deliberate shift in how irrigation policy is being framed. No longer viewed merely as an engineering or water delivery function, irrigation is increasingly being positioned as a system that integrates land, water, forests, finance, and data. Under PS Kimotho’s stewardship, the State Department for Irrigation has been steadily advancing this integrated lens, recognising that infrastructure alone will not deliver food security unless it is embedded within sustainable ecosystems and viable investment models.

Reframing Dams as Climate and Development Assets

Kenya’s six priority dams occupy a strategic place in national development planning. They are designed not only to store water, but to anchor large-scale irrigation, stabilise agricultural production, and reduce the economy’s exposure to climate shocks. The engagement with CIFOR-ICRAF underscored that greening these dams is not an environmental add-on, but a core economic strategy.

Greening in this context goes beyond tree planting. It involves designing dam catchments and command areas in ways that enhance soil health, regulate water flows, reduce sedimentation, and support climate-smart farming systems. This approach recognises that poorly managed landscapes undermine the performance of irrigation infrastructure, while well-managed ecosystems extend asset life, lower maintenance costs, and improve productivity downstream.

PS Kimotho has consistently argued that Kenya already possesses the fundamental inputs for agricultural transformation. The country is endowed with land, water, and forest resources across diverse agro-ecological zones. The binding constraint, as highlighted in the session, lies in the ability to scale investment and convert this natural capital into productive use at pace and at scale. Greening dams therefore becomes both a technical and financial strategy, linking ecosystem integrity with bankable irrigation outcomes.

From Rain-Fed Risk to Climate-Smart Productivity

A recurring theme in the discussion was the urgency of transitioning away from dependence on rain-fed agriculture. Climate variability has exposed the fragility of production systems that rely on increasingly unpredictable rainfall. Strategic development of both large and small dams, paired with efficient water use, was identified as a critical pathway to stabilising output and supporting double cropping.

Irrigation, when combined with climate-smart practices, enables farmers to move from single-season survival farming to planned, market-oriented production. Double cropping not only increases yields per hectare, but also improves land productivity and farm incomes. In export-oriented value chains, reliability of supply is often as important as volume. Well-managed irrigation systems anchored around dams can therefore unlock opportunities in horticulture, oilseeds, fodder, and other high-value crops.

The engagement reflected PS Kimotho’s broader policy position that food security and climate resilience are inseparable. Reliable irrigation reduces vulnerability to drought, while greening catchments mitigates flood risks and protects water sources. This dual benefit positions dam-centred irrigation as a cornerstone of adaptation, rather than a narrow agricultural intervention.

Financing the Transition: From Projects to Portfolios

One of the most substantive pillars of the engagement focused on financing and investment readiness. Despite the strategic importance of irrigation, funding gaps remain a persistent challenge. Large-scale water infrastructure is capital intensive, long-term, and exposed to climate and demand risks that often deter private investors. Addressing these barriers requires more than budgetary allocations; it demands sophisticated financing architectures.

The discussion explored how evidence generated through Natural Capital Accounting can underpin more credible investment cases. By quantifying the economic value of ecosystems, water regulation, soil health, and land productivity, NCA provides a basis for demonstrating returns that extend beyond direct user fees. This evidence is critical in attracting climate and adaptation finance, where investors increasingly require proof of environmental and social co-benefits.

PS Kimotho has been at the forefront of advocating for blended finance approaches in irrigation. During the session, blended finance, green finance, patient capital, and the National Infrastructure Fund were identified as complementary tools for closing viability gaps. The NIF, in particular, was discussed as a catalytic instrument capable of de-risking projects, supporting public-private partnerships, and crowding in private capital.

Credit enhancement mechanisms and risk-sharing arrangements emerged as key enablers. These instruments can absorb early-stage risks, lower the cost of capital, and make long-gestation irrigation investments more attractive to institutional investors. The emphasis on developing bankable water investment cases reflects a strategic shift from isolated projects to investment-ready portfolios aligned with national priorities.

The Role of CIFOR-ICRAF in Greening Irrigation Systems

CIFOR-ICRAF’s comparative advantage featured prominently in the discussion. As a global leader in agroforestry, soil diagnostics, land suitability assessment, and Natural Capital Accounting, the institution brings capabilities that complement the State Department for Irrigation’s infrastructure mandate.

Agroforestry systems, when properly designed, enhance water retention, improve soil fertility, and diversify farm incomes. The principle of promoting the right tree for the right purpose aligns with the need to avoid blanket interventions that may undermine agricultural productivity or water availability. Robust soil testing and ecosystem data ensure that tree-based systems are integrated in ways that support, rather than compete with, irrigated agriculture.

Land suitability assessments were highlighted as essential for targeting investments where they deliver the highest returns. Not all land is equally suited for irrigation or agroforestry, and misallocation can erode both financial and environmental outcomes. By grounding decisions in data, the State Department for Irrigation can improve project design, optimise resource use, and reduce implementation risks.

Natural Capital Accounting provides a unifying framework that links these technical inputs to finance. By translating ecological functions into economic metrics, NCA strengthens the case for climate finance and results-based funding. This aligns closely with PS Kimotho’s emphasis on evidence-driven policy and digitally enabled planning across the irrigation sector.

Aligning Irrigation with National and Global Agendas

The engagement also reflected a clear alignment between irrigation policy and broader development frameworks. Greening dams speaks directly to Kenya’s food security objectives, export-led growth ambitions, and commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals. It also reinforces the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda by anchoring productivity gains at the farm and community level.

From a global perspective, the focus on climate finance and natural capital positions Kenya to tap into emerging funding windows for adaptation, biodiversity, and land restoration. These resources are increasingly competitive and data-intensive. Partnerships with institutions such as CIFOR-ICRAF enhance Kenya’s credibility and readiness to access such finance at scale.

PS Kimotho’s role in convening and steering these conversations underscores the State Department for Irrigation’s evolving mandate. Beyond project delivery, the department is increasingly acting as a platform for coordination across finance, environment, agriculture, and development partners. This convening power is essential in addressing complex challenges that no single institution can solve in isolation.

From Strategy to Implementation

While the engagement was forward-looking, it was grounded in practical considerations. The emphasis on investment readiness, bankable cases, and scalable models reflects an awareness that strategy must translate into implementation. Greening Kenya’s priority dams will require sequencing, institutional coordination, and sustained financing over multiple years.

The session reinforced the value of strategic partnerships in navigating this complexity. CIFOR-ICRAF’s technical depth, combined with the State Department for Irrigation’s policy mandate, creates a pathway for translating ideas into programmes. As Kenya moves to operationalise its irrigation transformation agenda, such partnerships will be critical in bridging the gap between ambition and delivery.

In bringing together climate science, finance innovation, and irrigation policy, the engagement signalled a maturation of Kenya’s approach to water and food security. Under PS Ephantus Kimotho’s leadership, irrigation is being reframed not just as a response to climate stress, but as a proactive driver of resilience, growth, and sustainable development. The challenge ahead lies in maintaining momentum and ensuring that the promise of green, climate-smart dams is realised on the ground, for farmers, communities, and the national economy.

Article by Victor Patience Oyuko.