Blessing Zvikomborero Mahwerera
ZIMBABWE’S sugar industry enters the 2026/27 season with substantial water in storage.
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) reported national dam storage at 93,4 percent in April, and the Runde catchment, which supplies the sugarcane belt, remains among the fullest in the country. To a grower, that is good news.
But full dams are only half the story. What matters at the field edge is how much water the canals can carry and how much sugarcane we grow from every megalitre (ML) that arrives. On both counts, the answer points the same way: the Lowveld must move from furrow irrigation to centre pivot and drip, and it needs a financing model that lets ordinary growers make that move.
Why conversion, and why now
The first reason is the weather. Recent forecasts from the US Climate Prediction Centre indicate a high probability of El Niño conditions persisting into early 2027. That strengthens the case for preparation.
The Zimbabwe Sugar Association Experiment Station (ZSAES) has reminded growers that “irrigation is a genuine buffer, not immunity”. Hot, dry conditions can raise the crop’s thirst as inflows and allocations come under pressure.
The second reason is conveyance. Mkwasine’s main supply is the Manjirenji-Mkwasine canal, augmented by Siya. At its design capacity of 7 500 litres per second (l/s) serving roughly 13 700 hectares, the canal provides about 0,55 l/s per hectare, against a peak design duty of about 1,05 l/s per hectare.
In practical terms, the canal cannot always deliver water at the rate required by sugarcane during peak demand periods, regardless of how much water is stored in the dam. Even a full dam can deliver only what the canal can carry.
The third reason is growth. The Mkwasine scheme has expanded from about 8 300ha to 10 514 ha. Storage, canals and field efficiency must keep pace. New dams and canals take years; field efficiency can improve sooner.
The Government’s Sugar Industry Development Plan for 2026-2035 targets a 25 percent cut in water use per hectare. Applied to 15ML/ha across 13 700ha, that would reduce withdrawals by about 51 000ML a year. But it would still leave peak demand at about 0,79 litres per second per hectare (l/s/ha), above the available 0,55l/s/ha. Conversion must, therefore, go hand in hand with canal rehabilitation and better distribution.
The technology works, and it pays
Furrow irrigation built this industry, and well-managed furrow still has its place. Its efficiency depends on soil, field layout, maintenance and management. Poorly managed systems lose substantial water, so conversion should begin with a proper assessment of each block.
ZSAES guidance puts centre pivot application efficiency at 80 to 90 percent and well-managed subsurface drip above 90 percent. Drip delivers water and fertiliser to the root zone.
In a 2023/24 ZSAES trial, subsurface drip grew cane on 8,5 megalitres per hectare against the 15ML typical of furrow, a 43 percent saving, with an average yield of 176 tonnes per hectare in a below-average rainfall season.
Green Fuel reports about 5 000ha under drip across its operations, with more added every year. A Green Fuel study found that centre pivots yielded 120 tonnes per hectare against furrow’s 100,7t/ha, with gross margins of US$5 164 against US$2 861 per hectare. The pivot study also found benefit-cost ratios of 1,26 against 1,06 for furrow. Seed cane, nutrition and crop management still matter, but the gains are real.
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Honesty matters here. Historical figures used in the Green Fuel study put pivot installation at about US$16 900 per hectare against US$11 700 for furrow, roughly 44 percent more, with higher operating costs.
Current quotations are essential. A simple pivot circle covers about 79 percent of a square block, and pivots do not suit every small or irregular field. Reliable power is necessary, and budgets must cover solar, diesel or hybrid supply, filtration, spare parts and maintenance so that equipment keeps working through peak demand.
The Government agrees on the direction. The Sugar Industry Development Plan, launched in Chiredzi in August, requires all new irrigation to be centre pivot or drip, targets application efficiency above 75 percent within six years, and calls for first-loss guarantees and risk-sharing to bring banks into the sector. The task now is to make conversion affordable for existing growers.
The real barrier is finance
If the technical case for conversion is increasingly settled, the economic case remains unresolved for many growers.
A grower can see the case for drip and still be unable to buy it. Conversion costs thousands of dollars per hectare, paid up front. Plant cane can take up to 18 months to reach harvest. Growers already carrying seasonal input loans have little room for another short-term debt. Without dedicated finance, many out-growers will be left behind.
The Government granted sugarcane strategic crop status in 2021, linking it to subsidised inputs. That provides a policy basis for irrigation support. Growers should ask the Government to translate that status into an affordable conversion programme with transparent access rules.
Zimbabwe has financed cane development before. The US$40 million Project Kilimanjaro, launched in 2019, targeted 4 000 hectares for about 200 growers and brought commercial banks, the Government and Tongaat Hulett together on a full-cost-recovery basis.
It later stalled while banks awaited clarity on land tenure before concluding funding. That lesson is clear: finance, tenure and repayment arrangements must be settled together.
There are useful models elsewhere. Malawi’s Phata cooperative combined an EU infrastructure grant, an AgDevCo loan, specialist management and an Illovo cane purchase agreement. Ghana’s GIRSAL scheme guarantees participating lenders up to 70 percent of agricultural loan principal, excluding interest. Such combinations could help structure a Zimbabwean facility, with local funding commitments.
Conversion is a shared undertaking
Because irrigation systems depend on shared infrastructure, conversion cannot succeed through isolated farm investments alone.
Mkwasine’s 563 farmers share one main canal and four distribution systems, with common dams and canals within them. Different fields may need different equipment, but the shared network needs one agreed plan showing which assets serve everybody, which serve a system and which serve a smaller dam group. Costs should follow those responsibilities.
What growers propose
First, establish a sugar industry irrigation conversion syndicate through a proposed Lowveld Irrigation Conversion Facility. Banks would pool or coordinate long-term finance with development partners, using growers’ production and repayment records. Within the common plan, borrowing would cover shared assets and farm equipment. Repayment could be deducted from cane proceeds through agreed arrangements with growers, banks and the mill.
Second, match the tenor to the crop. Loans should run over five to seven years, with a grace period matched to installation and cane receipts. Repayments must remain affordable after operating costs and existing debts, including when yields or cane prices fall. The loan schedule should follow actual milling receipts, while seasonal input finance remains available to keep the crop productive.
Third, de-risk the facility. Treasury and development partners could provide partial guarantees or an agreed first-loss contribution, while banks retain some risk. Combine that protection with affordable long-term capital and clear pricing. Grants could support shared canals, pumps and meters. Climate finance should be pursued through a cost-water-saving proposal.
Fourth, phase conversion by starting with the Mkwasine scheme, prioritising growers at the tail end of its irrigation systems. Farmers sharing dams and canals should plan together. Install water meters and compare water use and cane yields before and after conversion, so that the benefits can be demonstrated.
Fifth, give each partner a clear role. Zimbabwe Sugar Association (ZSA), representing miller-cum-planters, growers’ associations and refiners, could coordinate the proposal. ZSAES, the industry’s research and development arm, should guide system design and verify results. Zinwa should improve water delivery, reduce conveyance losses and support efficient water use.
The Government should support bankable tenure. Growers should organise through structures such as the Mkwasine Farmers Development Consortium, formerly the Mkwasine Management Committee. Hardin’s “tragedy of the commons” warns how individual interests can undermine shared resources. To protect common dams and canals, growers must agree to water-sharing rules, maintenance charges, asset responsibilities and repayment obligations before signing contracts.
A season to begin
The peak irrigation months are almost upon us. Growers, Zinwa, millers and banks should agree on the terms of a conversion facility and begin implementation with the Manjirenji–Siya water system under a co-ordinated plan.
As ZSAES reminds us, water must be conserved before it becomes scarce, measured before it is allocated and prioritised before shortages force difficult choices.
Full dams are the foundation. The Lowveld’s challenge is no longer simply storing water; it is delivering every possible drop efficiently to the crop. Modern irrigation systems and affordable finance will determine whether this season’s good rains become a good harvest, and whether the industry is ready for the drier years ahead.
l Blessing Zvikomborero Mahwerera is a sugarcane grower in the Lowveld. He writes in his personal capacity.
