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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
GOVERNMENT is resuscitating Khomane Irrigation Scheme in Umzingwane District which has been underutilised over the years.
The 45-hectare irrigation scheme, which is in Ward 17, was established in 2003 and 26 farmers benefitted from it, before the project later lost momentum.
The irrigation scheme now has 11 active members practising rain-fed agriculture.
Government has now roped in the Agricultural Rural Development Authority (Arda) to revive the project and farmers hope that when fully functional, they will grow cash crops.
Arda is assisting farmers to run the agricultural project as a business.
Government, working with various partners, is rehabilitating irrigation schemes that have been lying idle in Matabeleland South Province and establishing new ones to improve food and nutrition security and ensure attainment of Vision 2030.
It is targeting to rehabilitate and develop 350 000 hectares of land by 2025 across the country.
Managers have also been deployed to irrigation schemes to maximise production thereby ensuring food security and nutrition.
In Umzingwane District, Khomane Irrigation Scheme interim manager, Ms Sindiso Mlalazi said Arda was also facilitating a loan for the farmers under Agricultural Finance Company (AFC), formerly Agribank.
He said they will also assist the farmers to acquire sprinkler irrigators to water their crops before they move to more advanced watering systems such as centre pivots.
“We have come in as Arda to ensure that Khomane Irrigation Scheme operates at full capacity. The scheme has a total of 45 hectares but farmers have only been utilising under 25 hectares. We want the farmers to increase their production to cover the entire 45 hectares. The plan is to have the farmers fully irrigating by next year so they can produce throughout the year and not rely on rain-fed agriculture,” he said.
Mr Mlalazi said three members of the irrigation scheme have been employed by the scheme. He said farmers were being trained on how to transform from subsistence to commercial farming.
Mr Mlalazi said the irrigation scheme had been regarded as non functional but efforts were underway to change that.
Farmers at Khomane Irrigation Scheme are in the process of preparing their land for summer cropping and they are targeting to plant maize on 25 hectares.
The farmers last sold produce to GMB in 2017, an anomaly which they are eager to correct.
Khomane Irrigation Scheme treasurer, Ms Jane Mpofu attributed the collapse of their irrigation scheme mainly to lack of knowledge on farming as a business.
“When we started producing at the irrigation scheme in 2003 we really never knew what farming as a business was and its benefits. For us farming was mainly for household consumption. That’s why many farmers moved out of the irrigation scheme to focus on their personal fields.
“There was once a time when we used to irrigate crops that included vegetables; tomatoes and onions, and maize and people used to buy but we never attached value to it,” she said.
“We were now producing just because we had the land and we were only producing maize under rain fed agriculture. With coming in of Arda we now understand the importance of farming as a business as well as selling to GMB. We now understand the role that we have in contributing to the nation’s granary through the valuable asset of this piece of land that we have.”
Another farmer, Mrs Rachel Tshuma said they were eager to apply the training which they had received from Arda.
She said the irrigation scheme will go a long way in assisting them to sustain their families and to ensure food and nutritional security within their households.
Mrs Tshuma said once their irrigation is fully operational their target is to focus on cash crops. -@DubeMatutu
Online Reporter