Kenya is ready to take on partners for the development of its dry land with Mohamed Elmi, Minister for Development of northern Kenya and other Arid Lands, adding that incentives would be placed on the negotiating table.
Renewable energy companies should particularly be on the lookout. The north is currently the construction site of the Lake Turkana Wind Power project – said to be the largest wind power project on the continent once completed. In addition, the area is rich in solar energy potential. Studies have indicated that in the border town of Marsabit has the highest concentration of solar energy per cubic meter in East Africa.
“We need to support dry land production systems and challenge the myth that dry lands have little to offer in terms of investment and economic growth. Economic rates of return of up to 40% have been achieved in a number of dry land projects,” the minister told a regional conference in Nairobi.
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