National Irrigation Authority (formerly National Irrigation Board)

The National Irrigation Authority was established on August 16, 2019 by the Irrigation Act No. 14 of 2019 as a successor institution of the National Irrigation Board. This was after His Excellency the President assented to the Irrigation Bill of 2019 on July 29, 2019 paving way for its gazettement via Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 136 (Acts No. 14) of August 2, 2019.

The objective of the irrigation Act 2019 is to provide for the development, management and regulation of irrigation, to support sustainable food security and socioeconomic development in Kenya, and for connected purposes.

Irrigation in Kenya is well anchored in Vision 2030, the Third Medium Term Plan (MTP III) 2018-2022, Big Four Agenda 2018-2022 and further cascaded in the Authority’s Strategic Plan 2019-2023. The Irrigation Act is further intended to support sustainable food production by clearly outlining the roles of national and county governments in facilitating irrigation activities in Kenya.