George Maponga in Masvingo
Mushandike Dam has spilled for the first time in over 20 years raising hopes of the imminent revival of Mushandike Irrigation Scheme which collapsed after the reservoir dried up two years ago.

Mushandike, the biggest irrigation scheme in Masvingo straddling over 800 hectares collapsed in August 2018 after its sole source of water domiciled in Mushandike Game Park dried up.

The drying up of the 38 megalitres-capacity dam forced plotholders to shift to dryland farming, ridding communities in Charumbira communal lands of a reliable source of income and food security.

That is now set to change with the spilling of Mushandike Dam after above normal rains in Masvingo.
“Our plotholders at Mushandike are surely thrilled because they will now be able to grow crops that generate cash for them such as sugar beans, wheat, chilli and potatoes which, is a boon for the local economy.These crops could not be grown under dry land,” said Agritex Mushandike supervisor Mr Callisto Mukarati.

He noted that the filling up of Mushandike Dam would restore the economic fortunes of villagers in Charumbira, parts of Chivi and Sipambi who relied on the irrigation scheme for income.

“The last time this dam (Mushandike) spilled was in 2000 during the days of Cyclone Eline.There is a sense of relief that it has now spilled again which is ominous in terms of ongoing plans to revive the scheme.”

Under dryland, plotholders had trimmed the sizes of their plots under crops from the ordinary 1ha to only 0.2 which hurt them financially and in terms of food security.

Mushandike scheme used to be the biggest producer of wheat in Masvingo and was a key source of fresh produce for the ancient city of Masvingo before its spectacular collapse nearly three years ago.