The World Bank has proposed $250 million in credit and a $2 million grant to expand irrigation across Kenya, targeting one million smallholder farmers and unlocking $220 million in private agribusiness capital.
Agriculture Principal Secretary Ephantus Kimotho disclosed the Ksh32.5 billion proposal on Thursday, following consultative talks in Nairobi with a World Bank delegation led by Global Water Practice Director Saroj Kumar Jha.
Channeled through the six-year Kenya Resilient Irrigation for a Sustainable Economy (K-RISE) program, the package combines International Development Association financing with a Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership grant.
“K-RISE represents a paradigm shift in Kenya’s irrigation development, moving beyond fragmented, infrastructure-focused interventions towards a coordinated, programmatic approach that prioritises institutional reforms,” Kimotho stated.
Authorities plan to establish a centralized National Irrigation Informatics Centre under the program to improve water resource management, investment prioritization, and scheme performance monitoring.
The financing aligns with Nairobi’s national target of expanding irrigated farmland to 1.5 million acres by 2030 to insulate domestic food supply chains from recurring drought shocks.
Despite its transformational scope, the $252 million package remains under active negotiation ahead of formal World Bank board approval and disbursement.
The talks follow the World Bank’s November 4, 2026, economic update, which raised Kenya’s 2026 GDP growth forecast to 4.6% from 4.3% after a 5.2% first-half expansion.
However, that same assessment warned that Kenya remains at high risk of debt distress, noting that weak governance and collusion widen the fiscal deficit by roughly 2% of GDP annually.
The Washington-based lender currently manages an active $8.4 billion portfolio across 34 projects in Kenya, alongside a $1.5 billion International Finance Corporation private-sector portfolio.
Successfully closing the K-RISE deal will test Nairobi’s ability to crowd in private agricultural capital while navigating tight fiscal consolidation targets.
