Revived irrigation scheme brings hope to Midlands community

THE Mambanjeni Irrigation Scheme in the Maboleni area of Gweru district in the Midlands province has been fully rehabilitated and is set to benefit more than 160 families.

The 85-hectare scheme which has been dormant for 17 years, has 168 beneficiaries who will soon be able to grow crops all year round. The revival of the irrigation scheme aligns with the Government’s efforts to enhance food security for communities across the country.

This season, the Government prioritises expanding irrigated land by rehabilitating non-functional schemes thereby bolstering agricultural production.

The Second Republic is also constructing dams to boost water for irrigation farming in response to climate change which has rendered rain-fed agriculture unreliable.

Mambanjeni Irrigation Scheme chairperson, Mrs Linnet Tshangie commended the Government and its partners for reviving the scheme which has not been operating for the past 17 years.

“It’s like I am dreaming that we will soon resume growing crops under irrigation as we used to do many years ago. It has been difficult to make ends meet given that we sometimes receive poor rains during the summer cropping season. We therefore, want to thank our Government for this big project. We are now looking forward to paying school fees for our children from the income generated from our produce,” she said.

Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Owen Ncube said Government was not only rehabilitating old irrigation schemes but was also establishing new ones because it realised communities could not rely on rain-fed crop production. The initiative aligns with the national strategy for rural industrialisation.

“As Government we are delighted that we have installed this new pump that is now pumping water at this irrigation scheme. Government has said it will ensure no one dies of hunger.

“More such schemes are in the pipeline,” he said.

Midlands provincial irrigation engineer Shingirai Zano said water for Mambanjeni Irrigation Scheme is from Insukamini Dam. Water is released from the dam into Gweru River and then diverted into a weir where it is then pumped to the scheme.

Engineer Zano said the 85-hectare scheme has centre pivot and as such does not need a lot of people to irrigate the crops.

He said the use of a centre pivot was water-efficient, a crucial feature given that the country received erratic rains during the last summer season due the El Niño phenomenon.

“The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development is looking forward to commission the scheme during this winter wheat cropping season,” said Engineer Zano.

He said Mambanjeni Irrigation Scheme is one of the Midlands Province’s flagship projects under the Government’s Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme (SIRP). This seven-year initiative has seen a number of irrigation schemes being rehabilitated across the country.

The other schemes that benefited from SIRP in the Midlands Province are Chamakudo (209 hectares), Mbembeswana (192 hectares) and Old Biri (38 hectares) which are all in Mberengwa district.