Where they grow sorghum under irrigation

What you need to know:

  • For sandy soils, farmers are advised to use organic fertilisers to improve water retention capacity.
  • Inorganic fertilisers form a compound that is insoluble making the crops to dry.
  • After the second month, the farmers irrigate their farms once or twice a week to ensure the crops do not dry because of the adverse weather conditions in the area.
  • Before turning to irrigated sorghum farming, the farmers were planting maize, but it was doing badly due to poor climate.

We drive from Lodwar town through a gravelled road to Naoyawai village in Turkana County. Our stop is at Naoyowai Irrigation Scheme, where residents are engaging in various farming activities.

However, of great interest is one of the crops they are farming, which is sorghum, under irrigation. The 200-acre scheme is owned by some 500 farmers and each has a portion of land as they draw irrigation water from River Turkwel.

The water is then directed to the farms through canals.

“To plant our sorghum, we depend on animal manure to increase the yields,” says Lukas Tiya, a sorghum farmer.
For sandy soils, farmers are advised to use organic fertilisers to improve water-retention capacity of the soil and boost yields.

Inorganic fertilisers form a compound that is insoluble making the crops to dry. Farmers till the land with the help of tractors owned by the county government.

After tilling, they prepare their portions by mixing soil with manure before seeds supplied by the National Drought and Management Authority (NDMA) and the county government are planted. The seeds take four days to sprout.

“After planting, the farmers irrigate the sorghum farms every evening for two weeks, until the seedlings have fully germinated. Since the crop does not require a lot of water, they thereafter water it three times a week for two months,” says Nahashon Lotaruk, an officer with NDMA, adding sorghum takes four to five months mature.

DROUGHT RESISTANT

After the second month, the farmers irrigate their farms once or twice a week to ensure the crops do not dry because of the adverse weather conditions in the area.

Those farming on less than an acre harvest up to five bags while those with one between 10 to 15 bags. They sell a kilo of sorghum at Sh150 at Lodwar town while a 90kg bag goes at Sh13,500.

“It it was not water from River Turkwel, we would not be farming here. The water is blocked and directed to the farm through a main concrete water tunnel.”

Threats to the crop include birds. To keep them away, farmers make scarecrows and erect them on the farm and they also spend time manning their crops and chasing the birds physically.

Before turning to irrigated sorghum farming, the farmers were planting maize, but it was doing badly due to poor climate.

“We later learnt that sorghum is more drought resistant as it withstands the hot sun and requires little water,” said Tiya, noting the scheme was started with the help of United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the National Drought and Management Authority (NDMA) in 2012.

UNDP and NDMA received Sh10 million support from the Japanese government which they injected into the project.
United Nations resident Coordinator Siddharth Chatterie said the UN has launched a drive to fundraise over Sh17 billion to support irrigated agricultural projects in drought prone areas.

“Even in areas where water is a major problem, we want farmers to start irrigation schemes,” he said.