Irrigation capacitation to boost food production
GOVERNMENT has come up with an irrigation master plan to rehabilitate and establish irrigation facilities with a capacity to service over two million hectares, a Cabinet minister has said.
Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Rural Resettlement Air Chief Marshal (Rtd) Perrance Shiri told The Sunday Mail through written responses that Government had forged partnerships with foreign players keen on developing irrigation facilities across the country.
Government is on a massive drive to rehabilitate and establish irrigation facilities in a development meant to boost command agriculture and ensure food security.
Minister Shiri said capacitation of the irrigation system came at a time the country received below normal rainfall at the beginning of the year, which affected crop growth and increasing the need to develop irrigation facilities.
“(We have come up with) an Irrigation Master Plan, (and) based on the available water resources, the country has capacity to irrigate up to two million hectares, but the area that can be irrigated goes up to between four and five million hectares,” said the minister.
“To date, the country has 210 000 hectares of developed irrigation out of which about 175 000 hectares are operational. A total of 80 Centre pivots, covering 3 200 Ha and 80 generators have been procured.
“All the 80 Centre pivots were mounted and as of 5 March 2018, 51 of these pivots covering 2 000 ha are now fully operational.
Added the Minister; “A total of US$476 506.68 out of US$500 000 was paid for additional equipment required to operationalise the remaining pivots.
“Government has just signed a supply agreement with Belarus for 440 tractors, 210 planters, 40 combine harvesters and 5 low bed trucks. These are expected to arrive in time for the winter season.”
The Minister said Government had used about US$10 million to purchase irrigation equipment for 143 farms. He said Zimbabwe had gone into partnership with development partners keen on rehabilitating and developing the country’s irrigation system.
“The partners include Kuwait, the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), Japan Centre for International Cooperation (JICA) and bilateral arrangements for sourcing irrigation equipment from China, India, Spain and Brazil.”
“In partnership with local and international financiers we are targeting mainly A1 and A2 farms winter cropping and rain-fed agriculture supplementary irrigation for the 2017/18 season.”
Minister Shiri said the partnerships with local and international partners would see the installation of irrigation equipment on farms that have adequate water resources.
He said the programme would empower farmers through rehabilitation and modernization of conventional irrigation systems that include semi-portable sprinkler and surface irrigation systems to aid in case of poor rainfall.
“The country received poorly distributed rainfall and long dry spell in January 2018. This affected most of the early plant crop with write-offs in some areas.
“Through the Command Agriculture Programme the Ministry has initiated a number of irrigation and mechanization rehabilitation and development programmes to ensure irrigation systems are capacitated for winter cropping,” said Air Chief Marshal (Rtd) Shiri.