Cost of Drip Irrigation In Kenya

Grekkon Limited’s cost of drip irrigation in Kenya depends on; crop type, and drip pipe type. Our cost of drip system per acre covers;

• The tank connector or connection to the water source
• Filtration unit and accessories
• The main line, and fittings. This is either PVC or HDPE
• The sub-main line, and fittings. Also PVC or HDPE
• Drip piping
• Labour

A detailed cost breakdown is provided to clients in the form of a quote

Drip lines prices in Kenya

One drip line per row in a watermelon farm

2 drip line rows per bed in a tomato growing farm

3 drip lines per bed in readiness for garlic planting

A. Cost of Drip Irrigation In Kenya

By crop type

Crops such as sweet melons and water melons will have one drip line per bed installed. Two drip lines are done for cabbage, peppers, capsicum, tomato, and many other leafy vegetables. Three drip lines per bed is for; strawberry, French beans, onion, and herbs. The emitter spacing for each is; 30cm, 20cm/ 30cm, and 10cm/ 15cm for each respectively. This drip line wall thickness is 0.3mm or 0.4mm

The table below provides our pricing model for vegetable crops. These one have a pre-perforated drip tape

B. Cost of Drip Irrigation In Kenya

By Drip Pipe Type

i. Pre-perforated drip tapes are for vegetable, and fruit crops. Their specs are; 16mm in diameter, 0.3mm or 0.4mm in thickness, and 1,000M long a roll. This is what goes in vegetable crops. For fruit trees, the wall thickness is 0.8m – 1mm

A 0.3mm drip tape is Kes 8,500 a roll. A 0.4mm drip tape is Kes 9,000

ii. 16mm HDPE pipes work as drip lines in fruit trees, forestry, or on hedges. A button dripper is inserted at the base of the tree along this pipe. The cost per acre of a button drip irrigation system depends on the tree spacing. The closer the spacing, the more expensive it is. Our 16mm HDPE pipe specs are; 16mm in diameter, 0.8mm or 1mm in thickness, and 100M long a roll

A button dripper irrigation system in an orchard

1. How do you install drip irrigation kits?
2. What is the process of drip irrigation?
3. What is the average cost for installing a drip irrigation system?
4. How much does it cost to install drip irrigation on 1 acre?
5. What are the pros and cons of drip irrigation?
6. What are the two main types of drip irrigation?

Steps To Install Drip Irrigation Systems

I. Site survey

It identifies the layout of the drip irrigation system. The size of the land, the direction of the slope, and the height of the gradient are key considerations here. Land size advises on the main pipe and sub-main pipe sizes

II. Water source identification

Is this drip irrigation by gravity flow or water pump powered? The amount of water will determine the size of the blocks and the number of hydrants put up. Also, water cleanliness and pressure type will guide the filter type

III. Pipe laying

Trenching is for PVC main and sub-main lines which are subsurface. HDPE pipes are surface pipes unless the farmer opts to bury them. There is no difference in the amount of water delivered by pipe type. The diameter size of the main or sub main line determines the volume of water available for the crop. The sub main line is always smaller in diameter than the main line to keep the water flow pressure sufficient

Pipe laying sub-divides the farm into ‘irrigation blocks’, meaning that a grower will irrigate a block or several at a time depending on the water volume and pressure. Each block is served by a hydrant, which is the control unit to swicth on or off the water flow to the block

HDPE pipes laid on the surface with drip pipes connected

IV. How to install drip lines

i. Vegetables. Your drip lines will connect to the sub-surface PVC sub-main pipes by a 30cm long 16mm HDPE pipe. The 16mm HDPE connection to the PVC pipe is by a starter connector. An offtake connector joins the 16mm HDPE pipe to the drip tape. The end cap is at the end of the drip line. A drip to drip connector is used on damaged drip tape or when 2 drip tapes connect

ii. Fruit tree irrigation. Your 16mm HDPE pipe will connect to the sub-surface PVC or HDPE sub-main pipes by a starter connector. The end line is at the end of the 16mm HDPE line. A PE to PE connector is used on damaged HDPE pipe or when 2 HDPE pipes connect. Online button drippers are inserted on the 16mm HDPE for each tree. This is how to connect button drip emitters for fruit trees in orchards

A button dripper irrigation system

V. How to install drip irrigation to an existing sprinkler system

The 2 systems will share the mainline. A new sub-main line will be laid for the drip irrigation system

Steps To Install Drip Irrigation Systems; pros & cons

• they conserve water
• there is uniform crop maturity because each plant receives the same amount of water
• it saves on labor cost
• it is expensive to install
• drip lines will be changed every 5 -6 years

3 row onion drip tapes laid on planting beds

A single row drip line in water melon

2 row drip lines on a cabbage crop