Kenya’s Galana-Kulalu project secures US$95M investment to boost food security

KENYA – Selu Limited, a special-purpose vehicle, has committed to injecting Sh12.5 billion (about US$95M) into the long-awaited Galana-Kulalu irrigation project as part of the Kenya’s renewed push to revitalize the food security initiative.

The National Treasury’s Draft 2024 Budget Policy Statement outlines this investment as part of a broader strategy to mobilize KES64.5 billion (US$497M) from three key PPP projects by June 2025. The Galana-Kulalu project is expected to contribute significantly to this figure, alongside the 35MW Orpower Geothermal Project and Africa 50 transmission lines.

Selu Limited has been allocated 20,000 acres within the scheme to produce 720,000 bags of maize and 160,000 bags of soybeans annually over the next 30 years.

The Galana Kulalu Food Security Project is one of the most ambitious efforts to boost Kenya’s food production. The government is using incentives such as land allocation to attract private investment, which is crucial for the success of the project,” said a Treasury official.

Launched in 2013 under the Jubilee Government with an initial budget of KES9 billion, the initiative was part of the regime’s drive to attain food security under the “Big 4” agenda.

However, the pilot project has long been seen as an epitome of the mismanagement and corruption that plague many third-world countries.

The project’s history includes a notable fallout with Israeli contractor Green Arava in 2020, who left after disputes over payment despite receiving KES5.9 billion from a KES6.35 billion loan.

Despite this, the government maintains that the taxpayers’ investment was not squandered, emphasizing that substantial groundwork had been completed on a 10,000-acre model farm.

In 2023, the government opened up the multi-billion-dollar irrigation scheme to private investors, with Agri-tech firm Twiga Foods being among the first beneficiaries of the new scheme, having secured some 20,000 acres.

The company’s pilot phase saw record-breaking maize yields of up to 35, 90kg bags per acre, the highest in Galana Kulalu’s history and quadruple the national average, however, the project didn’t actualize.

This partnership represents a new chapter for the project, by leveraging private investment and expertise, the government hopes to bridge the gap between food production and consumption, thereby reducing hunger among millions of Kenyans.

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