Chronicle Editor
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Correspondent
THE Government has been commended for its stance on improving irrigation schemes as this will go a long way in improving the crop yield in the country.
Under the National Development Strategy 1, Government has aimed at accelerating efforts to harness irrigation potential with a target of developing 350 000 hectares of irrigation land. Climate change and unreliable rainfall patterns have seen farmers finding irrigation to be an alternative to rain fed agriculture.
Speaking during a young farmers training workshop recently at Esigodini Agricultural College, Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) Matabeleland South hydrologist, Ms Tambudzai Siziba said the increasing of the irrigation area will focus on different components ranging from rehabilitation, expansion and development of new irrigation systems.
“The development of the 350 000 hectares would focus on the rehabilitation of the non-functional schemes and water sources, expansion of the existing irrigation network targeting areas with potential for further development and with utilised water bodies, development of irrigation schemes for ongoing dam projects, increased utilisation of the ground water resources and transboundary river systems for irrigation, ongoing irrigation projects, irrigation development on future dam projects as well as strategic schemes,” said Ms Siziba.
This comes as the country has a developed dam storage of 10,6 billion cubic metres which is only 22,4 percent of the potential storage of 47,3 billion cubic metres. So far about 250 000 hectares of land has been equipped with irrigation infrastructure with 174 500 hectares functional.-@nyeve14
Bongani Ndlovu