Formal irrigation development started around 1946 under the African Land Development Programme (ALDEV) when irrigation schemes were established around Naivasha, Taveta, and Nyanza and in the large scale farms producing coffee and pineapples. In 1966, the National Irrigation Board (NIB) was created through an Act of Parliament (CAP 347) to develop and manage tenant-based public settlement schemes and took over management of state developed schemes at Hola, Bura, Mwea, Kano and Marigat. In 1977, the Small-scale Irrigation Unit (SSIU) was created within the Ministry of Agriculture to coordinate the development of the community – based smallholder irrigation and drainage schemes that were not catered for under the Irrigation Act.
