dyton mupawaenda
Bulawayo Bureau
FARMERS have up to Wednesday this week to finish crop planting countrywide with the Government saying the activation of irrigation systems such as the 200-hectare Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme in Binga, Matabeleland North, is critical in boosting food production amid increasingly dry weather conditions.
The country is experiencing El Nino-induced lower rainfall conditions, which has resulted in cropping being delayed in most parts of the country.
Following improved rainfall in the last three weeks, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development had been encouraging farmers to speed up planting, as the season would be short.
Speaking during the tour of Bulawayo Kraal in Binga on Thursday, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said all farmers should have completed planting by Wednesday.
“This season has been late. Rains started in December but rains are upon us. We have said farmers should accelerate and complete planting by January 10 throughout the country,” said Dr Masuka.
Government would commence the crop assessment next month and he expressed satisfaction with the Pfumvudza/Intwasa implementation within communities.
“We have teams out in the provinces that have indicated that we need to climate-proof agriculture.
“That has been the focus and we have done 11,4 million Pfumvudza/Intwasa plots compared to 5,8 million this time last year,” said Dr Masuka.
“This means that farmers are receptive to climate proofing and the next stage is to ensure that dry areas grow the right crops, traditional grains, maize excluded, so we can focus on sorghum and pearl millet and other smaller grains.”
At the Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme planting started on Wednesday last week and the Government is confident that this time the scheme will finally become fully operational as it is addressing some of its shortcomings that had stalled progress.
Bulawayo Kraal in Binga is viewed as the permanent solution to the food insecurities of the district, which traditionally receives low rainfall and high temperatures contributing to high poverty levels.
The Government deliberately set up an irrigation scheme in the area leveraging on the abundance of water along the Zambezi River, which for years did not benefit communities.
Petrichor Irrigation Private (Limited) has been contracted to rehabilitate the irrigation infrastructure, which for years had stalled the project.
The contractor is said to have run several pumping tests but some pipes burst, further delaying the water to enable commencement of irrigation.
“We came here to do an assessment since my last visit in early December where we had set a deadline of December 9 (for the completion of the laying of irrigation infrastructure), as we had reached 99 percent completion.
“However, because of the time that it has taken to make the line operational, there are quite a lot of bursts and they are repairing the last two leaks today,” said Dr Masuka.
“My expectation is that since the transformers have been put in and they have started testing the line, these last hurdles will be overcome between today and tomorrow.”
He said the scheme will irrigate 200ha in this summer cropping season before going full scale with the winter crop.
“This is why we have activated the planting process. We had not activated the planting process earlier because it is an El Nino year and now that we have a guarantee of irrigation we can irrigate 200ha with confidence,” said the minister.
“We are putting 50ha of sunflower and 150ha of sorghum. We have a bulldozer on site, which is doing land preparation and clearing of the rest of the centre pivots and the 75ha. Our expectation is that by winter the 200ha balance will be done and the centre pivot will have been attended to.”
Dr Masuka said the scheme has been handed over to the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) so that it manages it as a business unit.
At the same time the Zimbabwe National Water Authority will provide technical irrigation management as the Government is keen to make it viable.
Dr Masuka said what has been done so far is part of the broader efforts to ensure the scheme becomes sustainably functional in line with the Government’s rural industrialisation agenda.
“This is the first stage to see the full functionality of the 400ha target and my expectation is that come winter we put a winter crop in the full 400ha, which will make the first phase of being operational,” he said.
“The second phase, this community scheme, is an irrigation business unit and a fisheries unit that we are putting in and the extension is now a commercial investment. This is for the Binga community and it is part of the Vision 2030 accelerator model,” said Dr Masuka.
Scheme members had visited Bubi-Lupane Irrigation Scheme in Lupane on a ‘look and learn’ visit on how they will benefit from the farming venture.
“We have taken the 99 beneficiaries here to see how their lives would be in the next two to three years as agriculture powers the transformation of this dry area,” he said.
ARDA chief executive officer, Mr Tinotenda Mhiko, said the rehabilitation of the irrigation infrastructure was a milestone considering the plans they had for the area.
“This is a whole of a sector approach, a whole of a Government approach and our responsibility as ARDA comes in on the scheme business unit management,” he said.
“We are on course to meet our planting targets. Planting is ongoing. We are planting 50ha of sunflower and 150ha of sorghum. This is part of the revolutionary V30 accelerator model to guarantee food security and viability of the farming business,” said Mr Mhiko.
Online Reporter