This case study examines the Pontoon Irrigation System and value-addition model in Tana River County, Kenya, as an empirical framework for building climate-resilient rural food systems across flood- and drought-prone Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) under the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Community Recovery and Resilience Facility (CRRF) Food Systems. Grounded in the reality of chronic food insecurity affecting 30% of the local population, where traditional riverbank irrigation pumps frequently failed due to heavy sedimentation and flood destruction, the publication evaluates how adaptive engineering and localized enterprise development can safeguard agricultural production. Executed through a multi-agency partnership with the County Government of Tana River and the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), the study analyzes how floating pontoon-mounted solar pumps—equipped with underground conveyance piping, concrete silting basins, and elevated energy arrays—automatically adjust to river fluctuations to secure year-round irrigation alongside the solar-powered Hola Rice Mill for post-harvest grading, packaging, and digital marketing. The study presents empirical evidence of enhanced livelihoods and inclusive governance across target schemes—directly benefiting 1,980 individuals, securing connected livelihoods for over 850 households, supporting 8,065 farmers through the rice facility, generating 40 direct mill jobs, and lifting maize yields at the Ngao scheme from 8 to 26 metric tons while elevating climate-smart agriculture adoption toward a projected 80%. Crucially, the publication demonstrates how integrating community-managed maintenance funds and empowering marginalized groups—with women occupying 47% of operational roles and youth accounting for nearly half of supported farmers—creates a self-sustaining, scalable blueprint for climate-proofing agricultural infrastructure across flood-vulnerable river basins in Kenya and the broader Horn of Africa.