Nairobi, July 2 -- The National Irrigation Authority (NIA), led by its chief executive officer Charles Muasya, is preparing to roll out at least 20 dam projects as part of Kenya's long-term strategy to reduce hunger by expanding irrigation and boosting food production. The task is particularly complex because some of the projects involve gravity dams, which require advanced engineering expertise.

As an agricultural and civil engineer, Mr Muasya possesses the technical skills needed to design and implement dams and irrigation projects. However, after more than three years at the helm of NIA, he has come to appreciate that delivering a dam requires far more than engineering knowledge.

For Kenya to achieve its irrigation ambitions, he says...