The Sunday Mail
Harmony Agere
The dry spell obtaining in the farming Regions II and III is a result of climate change and can only be addressed through resuscitating irrigation schemes in these areas rather than solely relying on rainfall, experts have said.
The regions which make up much of the southern parts of the country are facing a possible drought after below normal rainfalls were recorded as predicted by the Meteorological Services Department (MSD).
Last week, a survey carried out by The Sunday Mail Extra in the Lowveld region revealed that Matabeleland provinces and Masvingo are the most affected with the situation more severe in Beitbridge, Chiredzi and Gwanda districts. The development has raised questions as to why the regions are still depending on rain-fed agricultural activities and not irrigation when records show a consistent pattern of drought in these areas over the years.
Experts say the adoption of small grains such as sorghum and millet is also another solution to drought.
“The reports that we are getting from our officers in those provinces show that the situation is pretty bad,” said Mr Wonder Chabikwa, president of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union (ZCFU).
“Maize, which is the most affected crop, wilted in its early stages while small grains have done fairly better, but not many people planted small grains. Maybe having witnessed consistent records of drought in these regions, efforts should be concentrated on irrigation schemes,” he said.
Most irrigation schemes in these areas are, however, no longer functional with only a handful of community irrigation schemes doing well.
Schemes in Matabeleland South such as Guyu, Makwe and Sukwi have not been operating well while a few like Mawebeni in Gwanda are still functioning well.
“We have quite a number of irrigation schemes in the area, but a lot of them are not functioning well because they need rehabilitation. Unfortunately there is no funding,” said Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Matabeleland South, Cde Abednico Ncube.
“We have Makwe, Guyu and many others, but they are all not doing well and only Mawebeni is doing better.”
Mawebeni irrigation scheme chairman Mr Omrie Ncube said although the scheme was running it also needs assistance from Government.
“The farm is subdivided into plots and people from the community can plant their crops here,” he said.
“We have capacity to produce enough for ourselves and for the community. However, the challenge is that our infrastructure is now dilapidated and is now requiring rehabilitation.
“So our appeal is for Government to provide us with funding rather than giving us food aid every year.”
Shortage of water in the region is also threatening the irrigation schemes and experts say the accelerated completion of the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project can go a long way in solving the problem.
The project, whose aim is to bring water from the Zambezi River to Bulawayo, was first mooted over a century ago and commissioned in 2012. However, due to lack of funding, the project has been stalled despite its capacity to produce water for almost the entire southern region of the country.
