$250 000 each for irrigation scheme villagers

Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter

MPOFU villagers in Lupane, Matabeleland North never thought one day they would contribute to national food security largely due to poor soils in the area.

Lupane district is largely sandy and for years the community had to rely on Government handouts following recurring droughts.

Even this year, most villagers did not harvest much from their fields but the Bubi-Lupane Irrigation Scheme is changing the narrative.

Villagers participating in the irrigation scheme are paid wages and when the crops are harvested and sold, they are then paid dividends.

President Mnangagwa launched the Bubi-Lupane Irrigation Schemes late last year and it was identified as a pilot project for an integrated business model to be replicated across all provinces as part of the National Food Security Strategy.

The Agricultural Rural Development Authority (Arda) manages the scheme on behalf of the villagers.

The partnership has meant that Lupane is now contributing to national food security.

At the moment, Bubi-Lupane Irrigation Scheme is in the process of harvesting a bumper maize crop planted on 180 hectares during the 2021/22 farming season.

When the scheme started in 2020, it only had 45 members.

The bumper harvest of wheat last year was a game changer as the villagers were paid a dividend of $250 000 each after the wheat was sold to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).

This resulted in the number of participants increasing to 90 and more villagers are expected to join the scheme as it expands.

A Chronicle news crew witnessed the harvesting of the maize crop at the scheme by a combine harvester recently.

Elated villagers said they never thought one day they could contribute to national food security while at the same time being paid for working at the irrigation scheme.

Mrs Sinikiwe Moyo said they were eagerly waiting to deliver their bumper maize harvest to the GMB which should see them being paid a lot of money.

“I was among the people who started this irrigation scheme.

Working here has transformed my home.

I’m moving from pole and dagga huts to a modern homestead.

Following the wheat harvest last year, I managed to buy sofas, a cupboard and a wardrobe after being paid $250 000.

We have a good maize crop this season and we are looking forward to be paid a lot of money,” said Mrs Moyo.

An elderly villager Ms Josephine Mpala said she joined the scheme after realising that the lives of the schemes’ beneficiaries had been transformed.

“I saw many of them building modern homes and buying a lot of property after being paid hence I decided to join them,” said Mrs Mpala.

Bubi-Lupane Irrigation Scheme chairperson Mr Gerald Khumalo said working at the scheme has transformed the lives of Mpofu villagers who used to live in abject poverty.

“We never thought that anything would come out of our sandy soils in Lupane but things have changed.

“The farmers here are now enjoying good harvests because they are using proper farming methods guided by experts.

We have shifted from subsistence farming to commercial farming and as such we are now contributing to national food security,” said Mr Khumalo.

He said even lifestyles of members of the scheme have been transformed as they are buying property and livestock.

ARDA chief executive officer Mr Tinotenda Mhiko said the scheme is contributing significantly to national food security.

“We are targeting to achieve between 810 and 880 tonnes of maize from the 180 hectares.

Farmers at this scheme are contributing to the national food security as they are not just producing for their own consumption but are selling surplus to the GMB,” said Mr Mhiko.

He said the farmers are now taking farming as a business hence many of them have transformed their lives for the better.

Mr Mhiko said the scheme was part of the Government’s Agriculture Recovery Plan strategy whose aim is to transform the agriculture sector into a US$8,2 billion industry.

He said Government’s push for rural industrialisation can only be realised when schemes such as Bubi-Lupane produce the required raw materials. — @nqotshili