Turkana: The Turkana County Government has initiated a public participation process for the Agriculture Policy, 2025, seeking input from farmers across established irrigation schemes in Loima, Turkana West, Turkana South, and Turkana East sub-counties. The policy is designed to provide a structured framework to guide county investments, coordinate public and private actors, ensure equitable use of water and land, and promote innovations to enhance climate resilience and food security for all residents of Turkana.

According to Kenya News Agency, participants in the public forums were drawn from the Tisa, Kolioro, Napol, Natuntun, Nanyee, Moruese, Turkwell, and Natirae irrigation schemes in the Loima Sub-county. Joseph Ekiru, a farmer from the Tisa Scheme, expressed the need for the policy to address compensation for crops and irrigation infrastructure damaged by floods when dams overflow. He also highlighted the importance of providing farm title deeds for land ownership.

Joseph Lemuya from the Napak Irrigation Scheme emphasized the potential of using food for work programs to enhance food security through irrigation, as opposed to distributing relief food without a structured purpose. Mary Akiru, who represented the Tisa Irrigation Scheme, stressed the necessity of ensuring adequate water availability for irrigation, linking water access directly to food security.

Vivian Achwa, a farmer from the Kolioro Scheme, advocated for the policy to integrate pastoralism and agropastoralism practices in Turkana. She also suggested the development of medium-sized dams, water pans, and earth dams to diversify livelihood sources for farmers.

Looking ahead, Maraka stated that once the policy is finalized, the next step will involve developing a multi-sectoral implementation framework. This framework will unite stakeholders from government, civil society, and both the private and public sectors to outline practical steps for achieving the policy's objectives.

The event was attended by key officials including Richard Lokoyan, Director of Irrigation and Land Reclamation, Ekal Lokuruka, Director of Litigation Services, and several deputy directors and administrators. Representatives from the Alliance of Bioversity-CIAT, including Dorcas Jalang'o, Veronica Ndetu, and Esther Nzuki, were also present to contribute to the discussions.