Bura Irrigation and Settlement Project (Kenya)
| Bura Irrigation and Settlement Project | |
|---|---|
| Commercial? | No |
| Type of project | Irrigation Project (6,700 ha) |
| Products | Mainly cotton and maize |
| Location | Tana River County |
| Founder | National Irrigation Board |
| Country | Kenya |
| Budget | 766 million Kshs (development cost in 1977) |
| Status | Operational under National Irrigation Board |
In 1977 the Board of Governors of the World Bank approved Bura Irrigation and Settlement Project (BISP) in Kenya. The project area is situated just South of the Equator in the Lower Tana Basin. It lies on the west bank of the Tana River and falls within the administrative area of Tana River County. The project was an ambitious attempt of the government of Kenya, the World Bank and a few other donors to develop a remote area, create employment for thousands of people with a reasonable income and earn foreign exchange. Bura project would develop about 6,700 net irrigated ha over a 5 ½ year period and settle on smallholdings about 5,150 landless poor families selected from all parts of Kenya. Physical and social infrastructure would be provided to support the settler and satellite population, expected to reach a total of 65,000 persons by 1985. The total cost of the project was estimated at 92 million dollars in 1977 prices. Actual construction started in 1978. During implementation the costs exploded from $17,500/= per family to $55,000/=, a new record for the World Bank. The largest cost increase was for the irrigation network (615%). The donors were not willing and the government was not able to raise the additional funds and subsequently the size of the project was scaled down from 6,700 ha to 3,900 and later to 2,500 ha, although the irrigation structures were completed for 6,700 ha. In this period 2,100 landless households from all over Kenya were settled in the scheme. They were allocated two plots of 0.625 ha and a garden of 0.05 ha. Each year they were to grow 1.25 ha cotton and 0.625 maize intercropped with cowpeas. Soon it was evident that the project would fail to achieve its objectives. Job creation was only 40% of the target, the economic rate of return was negative and the annual operating and maintenance costs exceeded the benefits. Even with net farm incomes of about 40% of the appraisal estimates in real terms, annual government subsidies amounted to about 1,000 dollars per settler. The project had an unreliable water supply and many buildings had foundation problems. After cotton crop failures due to pests in 1990 the project came virtually to a standstill as the management lacked the funds to finance cotton and maize crops. Most settlers deserted and the only the ones with nowhere to go remained in the scheme, living on famine relief and odd jobs. In the period 1993-2005 a number of times the government tried to revive a number of timesthe project, but all in vain. After 2005, rehabilitation and crop growing started in phases and since 2009-10 the tenants have been growing crops, although the cropping pattern comed down to no more than 50% of the projected crop intensity and the settlers have low incomes, if any. This is partly caused by the fact that the original cash crop, cotton, is no longer a profitable crop.
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