Guidelines for promotion, development and management of irrigation in Kenya.

These Guidelines, defined by the State Department for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, provide for the definition of irrigation schemes, in order to ensure a sustainable promotion, development and management of irrigation in the country. The Guidelines define the following useful terms: agriculture; National Irrigation Authority; County Irrigation Development Unit; drainage; irrigation; irrigation scheme; irrigation service fee; irrigation service plan; irrigation water users’ association; participatory approach; monitoring and evaluation system; community based smallholders irrigation scheme; use of water; water resource, including any lake, pond, swamp, marsh, stream, watercourse, estuary, aquifer, artesian basin or other body of flowing or standing water, whether above or below the -ground, and sea water and trans-boundary waters within the territorial jurisdiction of Kenya; water right; Water Resource Users Association. The Guidelines are structured as follows: 1) introduction, including role of irrigation and drainage in agricultural development; 2) roles and categories of irrigation stakeholders; 3) irrigation scheme development; 4) support services for irrigation development; 5) financial arrangement for irrigation development; 6) irrigation scheme management; 7) roles and responsibilities of Irrigation Water Users Association.
These Guidelines are based on the following principles: participatory approach; private sector participation and public-private partnership; stakeholder coordination; mainstreaming gender, women, youth, vulnerable and marginalised groups; environmental management; capacity building for stakeholders. Concerning the process of irrigation scheme development, the Guidelines define steps and issues considered during planning and design stage, including environmental issues such as pollution, flooding and other hazards, and soil erosion, crop damages, gender issues, land-use conflicts. The irrigation scheme development process also focuses on: hydrological studies and water quality requirements; land use planning and land tenure system; rural infrastructures; social and economic issues.