The Small Scale Irrigation and Value Addition Project (SIVAP) was launched in 2015, as part of the government’s efforts to enhance agricultural production. The project builds on the successes achieved through the implementation of the Small-scale Horticulture Development Project (SHDP) by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation funded by the Government of Kenya, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the beneficiaries. The Small Scale Irrigation and Value Addition Project (SIVAP) is funded by the Government of Kenya, a loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and a grant from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP).
The purpose of the project is to contribute to poverty reduction by ensuring increased agricultural productivity and incomes; and food security among beneficiaries of eleven counties. The target counties are in the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya where the amount of rainfall received is low to moderate. In this region the target population have high poverty rates and low food security index.
The target counties are Bomet, Kajiado, Kitui, Machakos, Makueni, Meru, Murang’a, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Tana River and Tharaka Nithi counties. The project envisions benefiting 10,400 households in these 11 counties. Small scale Irrigation and Value Addition Project is executed by the State Department of Crops Development in the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. It is a six year project running from June, 2016 to June 2022.