The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo, Farming Reporter
ZIMBABWE is waking up to the realisation that rain-fed agriculture cannot guarantee food security for the nation.
While Government has stepped up efforts to improve irrigation schemes, it is not a secret that it cannot win the war alone.
That is why villagers in Bubi District, in Matabeleland North have decided to take an initiative to start their own irrigation scheme rather than waiting for Government or some non-governmental organisation to come and teach them how to look after their own stomachs.
The impending 100-hectare Bona Irrigation Scheme is an initiative by 80 villagers drawn from the same area in which it was named after. The grouping is part of farmers who were resettled under Government’s land reform programme at the turn of the millennium.
The scheme’s members paid a joining fee of $105, which was used to purchase equipment for land clearing purposes, $14 each for buying cement for the construction of a core unit house consisting of an office, resting room and a storeroom. They also contribute $4 a month towards payment of security personel at the site.
“This area just like the rest of Matabeleland experiences erratic rains and we are always prone to drought thus we thought of setting up an irrigation scheme as relying on rain-fed cropping has over the years yielded unsatisfying harvests.
“We are looking forward to cropping much of the cereal crops such as maize and wheat as a way of complementing Government’s efforts to ensure that the country’s food reserves are capacitated and this way food imports will be reduced,” said the scheme’s chairman, Mr Vote Ndlovu.
The farmers are about to complete land clearing and construction of a three-roomed flat house using their own finances.
Mr Ndlovu said Bilboes Holdings Private Limited, which owns Bubi Gold Mine and operates within the confines of the irrigation scheme had pledged to assist the farmers through purchasing a transformer to power pumps that would be used to draw water to the field, constructing a water storage tank and fencing off the land.
“Initially Bilboes had promised us to use water from its disused mine pits to irrigate our scheme but it appears the company had a change of heart and drilled three boreholes for us saying it intended to work on the pits.
“However, the three boreholes will not be enough, there is a need for more boreholes to be drilled because this irrigation scheme is huge. The company also promised to buy a transformer, construct a water storage tank as well as fencing off the field for us,” Mr Ndlovu said.
The irrigation scheme is one of the many that got irrigation equipment under Brazil’s More Food Africa programme.
It was allocated a tractor, a plough, a planter, disc harrow and centre pivot irrigation system.
“Ideally this scheme should at least have two tractors because it’s big. In the event the only tractor we have breaks down, it will mean production will be affected. We are working at the irrigation scheme site from Monday to Friday as a result of this we are constantly running out of food. We therefore appeal to well-wishers to assist us on this regard.
“Most of our fowl runs are on the verge of becoming empty as we are forced to sell our chickens for the sole purpose of ensuring the success of this project. We have no intentions of quitting this project because doing so will further subject us to abject poverty while at the same time we will be betraying the Government, which allocated land us for productivity purposes,” Mr Ndlovu said.
Matabeleland North Department of Irrigation Development provincial chief engineer Charles Makhula heaped a lot of praise on Bona Irrigation Scheme farmers for the commitment they have shown in ensuring the success of their project.
“It seems the mining house which had pledged to assist them is no longer forthcoming thus we are in the process of applying for $80 000 through our operation and maintenance fund to enable them to complete the remaining work.
We have also realised that the boreholes, which were drilled by the mining company were not properly done as their casing is now collapsing. We are however, highly encouraged by the commitment and perseverance shown by the farmers towards ensuring the success of their project,” Chief Eng Makhula said.
Although prospects are looking rosy at Bona irrigation, another irrigation in the province Fanisoni Irrigation Scheme in Nkayi District is facing a number of problems resulting in reduced yields.
Fanisoni Irrigation Scheme is located less than a kilometre from Shangani River yet its 53 members have hardly realised optimum crop yields from the 30 hectare agricultural project since its inception in 1968 owing to inadequate infrastructure to ensure effective irrigation.
Although the Irrigation Scheme was started 58 years ago, its operations were ceased in 1979 only to be revived in 1983. In 2009 the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) removed one of the two water pumps that drew water from the source to the agricultural enterprise.
Zinwa was to come back again in 2012 to take the remaining pump forcing the farmers to purchase their own in 2013.
“In 2009 Zinwa took one of the pumps and during this time we were also struggling to ensure maximum production due to economic hardships which made it difficult for us to get inputs. As if that wasn’t enough the authority came back and took the remaining pump and we were forced to buy our own in 2013. However, even before Zinwa took the pumps the company was always failing to maintain them,” said the irrigation scheme’s secretary, Mr Herold Ngwenya.
The irrigation scheme is 30 hectares but only 15 hectares are arable.
“Most of the farmers are struggling to buy diesel that’s why you are seeing that most of the maize crop here is uneven in terms of growth because it’s more of an individual effort by each one of our members thus those that don’t have sufficient finance tend to struggle to ensure the crop on their allotted plot flourishes.
“The canal system, which we use to irrigate our crops, is now obsolete and is falling apart and we can’t even afford to rehabilitate it because we are impoverished. We are also owing Zinwa about $22 000 and it says it needs 25 percent of that amount or we risk having water supplies cut off,” Mr Ngwenya said.
Fanisoni Irrigation Scheme was allocated a tractor, plough, planter, disc harrow, fertiliser planter and a hose reel under Brazil’s More Food Programme last year.
Engineer Makhula acknowledged that the Irrigation Scheme was facing challenges but hinted that efforts were underway to assist it to turn into a viable enterprise.
“We have asked Bubi Rural District Council to collect some of the scheme’s equipment under the Brazil facility, which is still in Harare. The council will be sending their truck there to collect the remaining irrigation equipment for Bona
Irrigation Scheme thus in the process they will also load the one for Fanisoni. Thereafter we will work on a programme to rehabilitate the scheme and this includes installing pipelines to reticulate water in fields.
“We are also looking at changing the canal irrigation system there for the hose reel, as we feel the canal system is no longer environmentally friendly. We are also looking at acquiring a transformer for them through our operation and maintenance fund. A plus is that the Rural Electricity Agency has installed electricity at the nearby school and clinic thus connecting to that line won’t be a challenge,” Mr Ngwenya said.
