George Maponga in Masvingo
A feasibility study to expand Mushandike irrigation scheme to 2 000 hectares using water from Muzhwi Dam is on the verge of completion.
The irrigation schemes services villages from Chivi and southern parts of Masvingo districts.

The expanded scheme will straddle parts of northern Chivi, Mushandike and Sipambi, boosting food security and incomes in the rural communities often affected by drought.

The expansion programme entails building a water pipeline linking Muzhwi Dam in northern Chivi and Mushandike Dam whose irrigation capacity has been heavily curtailed by siltation.

Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira said Mushandike’s expansion was part of the envisaged Masvingo greenbelt.

The planned greenbelt will stretch from northern Chivi to Roy commercial farming area in Masvingo East using water from Mutirikwi and Muzhwi dams for a combined over 5000ha in the two districts.

Minister Chadzamira said a feasibility study on the Mushandike canal was being done after Government availed funding under the irrigation revitalization programme.

Mushandike is the biggest irrigation scheme in Masvingo, but its fortunes took a knock over a decade ago because of erratic water supply and dilapidated irrigation infrastructure.