The World Bank has pledged to support Kenya’s food security campaign by proposing to build 50 mega dams to expand land under irrigation by 2.5 million acres.

While meeting the World Bank Africa Executive Director of Africa Group One, Zarau Kibwe, at State House, Nairobi, on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, President William Ruto confirmed that the financial institution found the initiative as Kenya’s only route to sustainable and increased agricultural production.

The Head of State also hailed the World Bank for taking a bold decision in setting up the National Infrastructure Fund to expand the road and rail network, irrigation and energy generation in the country.

Boosting food production

”With 85 per cent of Kenya being arid and semi-arid, irrigation is the new frontier for increased food production and productivity. Rain-fed agriculture in 15 per cent of our arable land has reached its limits,” President Ruto said through his X account.

According to President Ruto on the World Bank project, the National Infrastructure Fund is aimed at mobilising finance to build the 50 dams, 20,000km of roads, especially in rural Kenya.

The Fund is also meant to dual 2,000km of Kenya’s highways and generate an extra 10,000MW of electricity to facilitate manufacturing and industrialisation. Additionally, Ruto also revealed that the Bank has supported the social sector in the country, including education, health, social protection and human capital development.

Wetang’ula meets World Bank and IMF teams

President William Ruto’s meeting with the World Bank officials comes shortly after the National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetang’ula, on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, held a consultative dialogue with representatives of a team from the same institution and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the country’s economic transformation agenda.

”Today, I held a consultative meeting with a delegation from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at Parliament Buildings to explore ways of strengthening collaboration in support of Kenya’s economic transformation agenda,” Wetangula took to X, confirming the deliberations.

The particular delegation was led by World Bank Group Division Director Qimiao Fan and joined by the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and IMF Caucus, chaired by Wajir East Member of Parliament Mohamed Adan Daud at Parliament Buildings.