Online Reporter
Lovemore Kadzura
Post Reporter
THE Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) has begun rehabilitating and modernising the Kujecha Mutema Irrigation Scheme in Chipinge District, which has remained idle since it was extensively damaged by Cyclone Eline in 2000.
Once a vital source of livelihood for smallholder farmers, the scheme’s water conveyance infrastructure was destroyed by the cyclone, disrupting agricultural activity and threatening food security and household incomes.
The rehabilitation programme follows appeals by Mutema Musikavanhu legislator and Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister, Honourable Angeline Gata, for Government to restore irrigation infrastructure and strengthen climate resilience in the vulnerable community.
Work underway includes desilting canals, repairing and replacing pump stations, and upgrading water distribution systems.
Two centre pivots and four boreholes have already been installed.
Previously, the scheme drew water from Save River — a costly arrangement that eroded farmers’ profitability.
During a tour of the scheme last Wednesday, Honourable Gata said the rehabilitation will revive agricultural activity in the area, where farmers once produced tomatoes, beans, cotton and other crops under contract to food processors such as Cairns and Lemco.
“The scheme has been dysfunctional for the past 26 years after it was extensively damaged by the devastating Cyclone Eline in 2000. Cyclone Eline was very brutal in the Mutema-Musikavanhu area, but did not receive enough publicity at the time. The scheme has about 150 farmers, with an average of one hectare per person. The area lies in Ecological Region Five, where agriculture can only succeed under irrigation. On Wednesday, we received centre pivot equipment, and drilling of boreholes is under way. The scheme will no longer draw water from Save River because it is expensive.
“The centre pivots will irrigate 90 hectares, and the main pipeline from the pump house will also be rehabilitated. The revival is being carried out entirely by the Government through ZINWA.
‘‘Farmers used to grow crops under contract farming with companies such as Cairns and Lemco. The revival of this scheme has brought back hope that they can restart farming. We are grateful that Government responded to our plea to revive this important scheme,” said Honourable Gata.
A plot holder, Mrs Juliet Mapfure, said that for the past 26 years they were relying on renting small pieces of land from other functioning schemes, and the revival of their own scheme will breathe life back into a community that depends solely on agriculture.
“When the scheme was damaged, we had to lease plots from other functioning schemes, and this affected us negatively. We struggled to farm for our own consumption, whereas in the past we used to produce commercially and make a profit. The main crop was tomatoes, which had a ready market with canning firms, and we had also adopted cotton, which is ideal for the area. Besides farming as a business, the revival of the scheme means we will have a steady supply of nutritious fresh food for personal consumption,” she said.
Restoring irrigation schemes is essential to improving agricultural productivity and ensuring efficient water use, particularly in drought-prone districts such as Chipinge.
