Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent
IT is all smiles for small holder farmers in Gwanda as they have recorded good harvests at their respective irrigation schemes after a series of poor harvests caused by water challenges.

Some of the farmers had been forced to suspend cultivation of crops due to water shortages.

The farmers used to rely on rain water which meant that they could only plant once per year.

Siltation of dams and obsolete equipment at their irrigation schemes forced them to stop cultivation of crops under irrigation.

Practical Action through their project “Enhanced agricultural productivity and resilience to climate change’’, have intervened to assist the farmers by among other things, installing solar energy.

Under the programme the organisation rehabilitated four irrigation schemes and 15 gardens in seven wards in the district. The programme included drilling of boreholes, installation of solar powered systems, mounting of jojo tanks, rehabilitation of obsolete infrastructure and construction of new infrastructure to ensure uninterrupted water supply.

The chairperson of Reinetsi Irrigation Scheme in Buvuma Village, Ward 18 Mr Alton Sibanda said they stopped operating in 2015 due to water challenges.

He said they resumed operations in July after Practical Action installed a solar powered system.

Mr Sibanda said the irrigation scheme which is seven hectares had 67 farmers.

He said the irrigation had a good maize crop which they had started harvesting.

“This irrigation scheme has been lying idle for the past four years after we were forced to stop operations because of water challenges. We used to get water for our crops from a nearby dam but it had become heavily silted and we couldn’t access water. We had to stop our operations in 2015. In 2017 Practical Action came to us and indicated that they wanted to assist us with a reliable water source as well as rehabilitate our irrigation infrastructure.

“They drilled three boreholes for us and installed a solar system which we are now using to water our crops. We are using a drip system and canal system to water our crops using water from the boreholes,’’ he said.

Mr Ndlovu said the irrigation scheme was established in 2003.

He said the project started off as three separate gardens which were then combined to form one irrigation scheme.

Mr Ndlovu said the irrigation cheme had four hectares but was later expanded to seven hectares.

He said before a solar powered system was installed, farmers were only able to plant once after the onst of the rains.

“Our crop is looking very good and we have started selling green mealies to surrounding communities and people from other districts. Our butternut is almost ready and we have more maize crop which is at tasseling stage. We also have tomatoes and vegetables and we also expect them to do well.

“This is our first crop since rehabilitation of the irrigation. We will now be able to grow crops throughout the year as we now have reliable source of water for irrigation. All along we were relying on rain water and we could only plant once a year. Once we remove these crops we will plant again. This will increase our production levels and we will realise more income,” he said.

Mr Ndlovu said farmers are now able to fend for their families as they were realising more from their plots.

Ms Sizi Dube who is the chairperson of Sukwe Irrigation in Ward 18 which was also rehabilitated under the Practical Action programme said when the organisation came in to assist they were struggling to keep the irrigation operational.

She said they used to rely on a diesel engine to draw water from Sukwe Dam but it had become obsolete and was constantly breaking down.

Ms Dube said they were also struggling to buy diesel for the engine.

She said their irrigation scheme had 20 hectares and it had 48 beneficiaries.

“We are now relieved as Sukwe Irrigation scheme farmers because our project was about to collapse. Before we got assistance from Practical Action, we were only planting a small section because we had limited water supplies. At one point we thought of suspending cultivation of crops under irrigation due to the challenges we were facing. We started planting our first crop of tomatoes in June after we had a solar system installed and our crops are doing well. The crops we have now is our second lot and we have maize, tomatoes, onions, carrots and cabbages.

“Business is booming- we have people coming from as far as Beitbridge and Bulawayo to buy our produce. We have a marketing committee that we formed which is responsible for securing markets for us. Practical Action didn’t just assist us with equipment to rehabilitate our irrigation but they also equipped us with knowledge and skills on proper farming methods, how to farm for business, how to market our produce among other issues,” she said.

Ms Dube said in the past the crops they produced were mainly for their own consumption but were now producing surplus for sale.

Zenzele Garden chairperson Mr Loveness Nyathi said they were operating a one-hectare garden which had 38 farmers.

He said before Practical Action intervened, they were facing serious water challenges.

Mr Nathi said the organisation came in November last year and assisted with drilling of boreholes, installation of solar powered system, mounting of jojo tanks and installation of a drip irrigation system.

He said their produce had greatly improved since a new water system was introduced.

Mr Nathi said from April to July they realised about R80 000 from selling tomatoes, vegetables and carrots while in August and September they realised about R17 000 from selling tomatoes. He said at the moment they were selling onions and butternut while their tomatoes were almost ripe.

Practical Action projects coordinator for Matabeleland South Province, Mrs Melody Makumbe said four irrigation schemes namely Sukwe Irrigation, Reinetsi Irrigation, Bopoma Irrigation, Silikwe Irrigation as well as 15 gardens in seven wards in the district were rehabilitated under the “Enhanced agricultural productivity and resilience to climate change project.

She said the project started in October 2017 but face challenges as the areas were very dry and they could not drill boreholes.

“We rehabilitated four irrigation schemes and 15 gardens in seven wards in Gwanda as part of efforts to address food security and nutrition issues. The works which were conducted included installing solar powered water system, installing drip irrigation systems, rehabilitation of canals and developing other infrastructure.

“We also assisted the farmers with capacity building where we were equipping them with farming skills, crop selection and marketing skills. We have also assisted them with market linkages. As an organisation we realised that farmers were having a challenge in accessing water which resulted in food insecurity. Farmers were already working on these gardens and irrigations but they were operating at low capacity due to limited water supplies hence we assisted by drilling boreholes,” she said.
— @DubeMatutu