Online Reporter
Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau
THE Second Republic’s aggressive irrigation development programme in the Midlands Province is beginning to yield tangible results, with the area under irrigation expanding from 14 000 hectares to more than 21 000 hectares in just five years.
The growth reflects the Government’s commitment to boosting food production and climate-proofing agriculture as the country marches towards an empowered upper-middle-income economy by 2030 under Vision 2030.
Irrigation development has been identified as a cornerstone of the national agricultural revival strategy, aimed at reducing reliance on rain-fed farming while ensuring food self-sufficiency and resilience to climate change.
To date, 45 out of 61 irrigation schemes in the Midlands Province are operational, while the Government is working to rehabilitate the remaining 16 non-functional schemes to further enhance sustainable food production.
Midlands Provincial irrigation engineer, Eng Shingi Zano, said the province has vast untapped potential, with the capacity to irrigate up to 90 000 hectares using developed water sources, underground water such as boreholes and aquifers, as well as planned but undeveloped dams.
“The additional area developed under the Second Republic has increased from around 14 000 hectares to over 21 000 hectares in the last five years. Midlands Province has a potential of 90 000 hectares,” he said.
Eng Zano said the Government, working in partnership with development stakeholders, continues to invest in irrigation infrastructure to improve crop yields, strengthen food security and stimulate economic growth.
The irrigation expansion has brought significant benefits to communal farmers, who can now cultivate crops throughout the year, leading to increased incomes and improved living standards.
“As the Government pushes ahead with its agricultural revival plans, Midlands Province is poised to become a key player in Zimbabwe’s food security narrative,” said Eng Zano.
He attributed much of the progress to strong collaboration between Government and development partners, citing the Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme (SIRP) as one of the major contributors.
SIRP was a funding partnership between the Government, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad), the Opec Fund for International Development (Ofid) and farmers, aimed at strengthening smallholder irrigation systems.
“SIRP’s main objective was to achieve food and nutrition security by building resilience of smallholder farming communities to climate change and economic shocks through enhanced production, productivity and incomes,” said Eng Zano.
He said the programme focused on rehabilitating irrigation infrastructure, improving water supply and sanitation, building farmer capacity and strengthening management of irrigation schemes.
SIRP was fully implemented in Kwekwe, Mberengwa, Chirumhanzu and Gweru districts, while other districts benefitted through capacity-building initiatives.
Additional irrigation development has also been driven by programmes such as More Food for Africa Phase 1 (Brazil Facility), Pedstock Facility, Maka Resources Phase 1 and direct investments by farmers with capacity.
Eng Zano said projects currently under development using Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) funding include Mbembeswana (190ha) in Gweru District, Chamakudo (209ha) and Chaora (180ha) blocks in Mberengwa District, which are expected to be completed within the current financial year.
He added that several completed irrigation schemes are also set to be commissioned this year, including Mambanjeni (85ha) in Gweru, Mtange (134ha) in Gokwe South, Nhakayedu (20ha) in Kwekwe and Marivale (20ha) in Kwekwe District.
“These are some of the successes of the Second Republic in transforming irrigation development and strengthening national food security,” said Eng Zano.
