By P, KNA
The State Department for Irrigation is set to sign a three-year cloud services agreement with the Konza National Data Center within the next two weeks, Director of Irrigation Quality Assurance and Licensing, Nguma Kani, has announced.
The agreement will be between the State Department for Irrigation and the Konza Technopolis Development Authority, a public agency mandated to drive Kenya’s digital transformation agenda.
According to Kani, the agreement has undergone careful review to ensure that it captures the State Department’s mandate. He emphasized that the key considerations in shaping the deal included data and information security, affordability, hosting capacity, and the flexibility of Konza’s systems.
He explained that the arrangement seeks to foster stronger government-to-government collaboration with practical, goal-oriented solutions. “This platform is expected to provide a clear roadmap for directing policy within the State Department for Irrigation and enhance service delivery in Kenya’s irrigation sector,” he said.
Kani further revealed that the agreement will feature a Service Level Agreement (SLA), which will define the standards for service provision. These include system availability, customer incident management support, and formal processes for managing service changes.
Speaking at the same forum, Richardson Musau, Senior IT Enterprise Officer at Konza Technopolis, highlighted the unique role of Konza in the region. “Konza has often been referred to as the Savannah Silicon Valley of Africa and has been recognized for its capacity to deliver secure, affordable, and flexible data solutions,” he remarked.
Musau noted that the National Data Center will serve as the host for the National Irrigation Sector Investment Plan (NISIP) Management Information System (MIS). This system, developed by the State Department, is designed to enhance decision-making, improve efficiency, strengthen customer relations, and promote cost savings in operations.
He further explained that the collaboration would give the State Department a competitive advantage through timely and accurate access to information and data. “This will go a long way in streamlining Kenya’s irrigation sector,” Musau said.
Through the partnership, the Konza Data Center will provide cloud hosting, disaster recovery, and backup services. The initiative is expected to reduce the costs associated with maintaining physical servers, enhance resilience against cyber threats, and support data-driven decision-making.
Officials stressed that the project is aligned with the government’s broader digital transformation agenda. It will also play a critical role in advancing Kenya’s long-term food security goals by ensuring the irrigation sector operates more efficiently and sustainably.