Water crisis hits Bindura farmers

ABOUT 70 A1 farmers in Bindura, who are facing acute water shortages, are appealing for assistance to drill boreholes and buy a pump that will channel water to inland dams from nearby Pote River.

Chief Chipadze said water sources at four farms — Chiwaridzo, Goodflei, Chipadze and Beckonhill — had dried up due to successive droughts and feared that farmers would lose livestock in the coming drier months.

“We have been hard hit by water shortage in this area because we don’t have enough boreholes. The dam we relied on was shared by three farms, but its drying up and there is not enough water for our livestock. I shudder to think what will happen when we get to October so we are in need of help from government,” Chief Chipadze said.

Ward 7 councillor Collins Mutengwa said some A1 farmers inherited boreholes on their farms, but those from far off areas could not access the water since their cattle had succumbed to drought and disease.

“We used ox-drawn carts to fetch water, but many cattle died last year so we have no transport. People are relying on dug up shallow on dry river beds, but that water is not safe because animals sometimes use those watering holes,” Mutengwa lamented.

The farmers, who were quoted over US$500 000 for a solar-powered pump, have failed to mobilise the funds after suffering successive crop failures in the past two seasons.

“We tried to make contributions in a bid to drill boreholes, but people were not forthcoming as they were lamenting lack of funds,” local farmer Chivaura Chivaura said.