Sydney Mubaiwa in Zaka
Farmers at irrigation schemes must fully utilise their plots and help boost food security. The call was made by Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement Minister Chief Air Marshal Perrance Shiri (Retired) last week while touring the Fuve-Panganai Irrigation Scheme in Zaka, Masvingo.

“Government is keen to see food-secure households and has put in place farming inputs supply facilities targeted at improving production,” he said.

“I would like to urge farmers here present to use the inputs to boost agricultural production so as to reduce expenditure on food imports.”

Minister Shiri said farmers were supposed to help fulfil objectives of the country’s agrarian reforms by maximising production to ensure food security and growth of the agricultural sector, the backbone of the economy.

He urged farmers to diversify their operations by venturing into livestock production. Minister Shiri said Government was against the underutilisation of irrigation equipment.

“I would like to appeal to farmers with idle irrigation equipment at their farms to start utilising the equipment for both their benefit and the country,” he said.

“To those with functioning irrigation equipment, I urge you to handle it with care.’’ On the Fuve-Panganai Irrigation Scheme, Minister Shiri challenged plot-holders to run the scheme sustainably.

“We also have to make use of resident Agritex officers to boost our crop production and produce high value crops for income generation,” he said.

Minister Shiri said Government was exploring ways to cushion Fuve-Panganai plot holders against high water and electricity costs, as these were eroding their profits. Farmers had complained of erratic power supplies since 2015 owing to a faulty transformer.

Minister Shiri said there were plans to heighten the Siya Dam wall to increase water storage. The dam is shared by irrigation schemes in Bikita and Zaka.

Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister Senator Josaya Hungwe bemoaned the rampant siltation of dams in Masvingo, saying this was threatening viability of irrigation schemes.

“The country is on a massive drive to ensure self-sufficiently on food production with the Command Agriculture programme being rolled out and irrigation has been cited as a long term solution to ensuring food security, but siltation in the country’s water bodies derails progress in that regard,” he said. Fuve-Panganai is one of the biggest irrigation schemes in Masvingo province.

It is credited for the successful launch of the Zaka Super Seed project where plot holders grow hybrid maize seed for the local market. They also export the seed to countries like Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho and Swaziland.