Chivhu (New Ziana)- The Irrigation scheme established near Chivhu Dam, which President Mnangagwa commissioned in June this year, is expecting a bumper wheat harvest of up to 600 tons from the 105 hectares which were put under the crop this season.
In addition to the irrigation scheme, President Mnangagwa also commissioned a fishery project and a water treatment plant on the dam, located just outside Chivhu town along the Masvingo Highway in Chikomba district, Mashonaland East province.
Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) Chivhu Dam resident engineer, Samuel Tsuro confirmed the expected bumper harvest in an interview on the sidelines of the ongoing tour of dam projects by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement.
“We have earmarked 120 hectares for the irrigation scheme but the production this year is from 105 hectares, the other 15 hectares still has some resettlement issues. There are still some homesteads in the fields, so we didn’t use all the land for irrigation.
“We are expecting between 500 and 600 tons of wheat. Last year we did 400 tons but due to improvements in farming techniques and soil management, we expect to get at least 5 tons per hectare which will come to at least 500 tons,” he said.
The Chivhu Irrigation Scheme Private Limites, which was created from a cooperative of the at least 40 households affected by the Dam construction, is coordinated by various entities in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement that include ZINWA, the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA), the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) and the Agriculture Extension and Research Services (Agritex).
Eng Tsuro said the Dam had also tripled the supply of treated water to Chivhu town from 150 million cubic meters to 450 cubic meters and their next target was to construct reservoirs to ensure supply of water even in periods of electricity outages.
“The Dam has resulted in guaranteed supply of portable water to 6 000 Chivhu households,” he added.
Committee’s acting chairperson who is also Mberengwa West MP, Tafanana Zhou, the government for the integrated approach in Dam construction.
“We would want to commend the approach by the Second Republic under the leadership of President Mnangagwa that ensures maximum utilisation of our water resources for the local communities. We would want to see more of such projects countrywide,” he said.
New Ziana
