Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development Eric Mugaa has inspected ongoing sugarcane farming at the Bura Irrigation Scheme in Tana River County, describing it as a key pillar of the government’s drive to expand irrigated agriculture through public–private partnerships.
“Today, I inspected the ongoing sugarcane farming at Bura Irrigation Scheme in Tana River County under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Framework,” CS Mugaa said in a statement.
He noted that the project had been made possible by new irrigation infrastructure commissioned by President William Ruto.
“The new gravity canal commissioned by H.E. the President Dr. William Samoei Ruto allowed onboarding of private investors through the PPP Framework to lease land in Bura for large-scale commercial production of rice and sugarcane,” he said.
One of the investors, Tana River Sugar Company, has leased 700 acres to establish sugarcane seed farms.
“They established one centre pivot that covers 75 acres and planted cane seed for multiplication and expansion last year in June 2025,” Mugaa said, adding that “the first seed cane is ready for harvesting.”
He said the project has expanded rapidly, with “an additional six more centre pivots constructed, increasing the area under seed cane in Bura to 525 acres.”
Looking ahead, the Cabinet Secretary announced major new land allocations for commercial farming. “An additional 85,000 acres will be issued by February for development by three competitively onboarded private investors to develop 50,000 acres for cane production and 35,000 acres for rice production,” he said.
CS Mugaa said the expansion would have a direct impact on livelihoods and food security. “This additional acreage will translate to more food production, reduction of poverty and creation of employment opportunities as espoused in the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BeTA),” he said.
The inspection tour was attended by CPA Ephantus Kimotho, Principal Secretary for Irrigation; Eng. Gilbert Maluki, Chair of the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) Board; Eng. Charles Muasya, MBS, NIA Chief Executive Officer; Hezekiah Muleshe, General Manager of Tana River Sugar Company; and Joseph Mwangi, Tana River County Commissioner.
The Bura Irrigation Scheme is emerging as a major hub for irrigated sugarcane and rice production, positioning Tana River County as a key contributor to Kenya’s agricultural growth under the PPP framework.
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