| dc.description.abstract | In the past 10 years the strategy of the Kenya
Government has shifted from expansion of largescale
irrigation schemes to the development of
smallholder irrigation systems. Since 1992,
the Government has adopted a cost-sharing
policy for the implementation of irrigation
projects. Farmers are expected to pay the full
costs of infrastructure, as well as operation
and maintenance, through a system of
commercial loans. The privatisation of some
irrigation services and the financial autonomy
of public agencies are also being promoted.
The implications of these policies are that
development of irrigation is likely to be
concentrated in higher potential areas, and
that farmers' involvement in all phases of
project development will be greatly enhanced.
This, in turn, should favour technologies which
are low cost and easy to operate and
maintain. It is therefore expected that the
private sector will play an essential role in the
k: NYA
provIsion of services and in the creation of
technologies.
In 1991 Terra Nuova, an Italian NGO, carried
out a study in collaboration with the University.
of Nairobi and the Ministry of Agriculture, on
sprinklers manufactured by local artisans in
the Mt. Kenya area. The objectives of the
study were to assess the performance of these
"Jua Kali"l sprinklers, the scope for improvement
and the level of diffusion among smallholder
farmers, with a view to identifying ways to
promote wider adoption of this type of sprinkler
in gravity-fed, low pressure irrigation systems.
In 1994, Terra Nuova carried out an informal
survey in the same area, this time focusing on
the manufacture of the sprinklers. .
This document is a synthesis of both surveys and
attempts to elucidate, with text and illustrations,
the creativity of local artisans in the circumstances
in which they operate. | en_US |
