Zimbabwe is on a massive irrigation drive in the midst of erratic rainfall patterns, climate change and hunger faced by 7-million people.
A total of US$100m has been secured from various partners to spearhead three programmes in four provinces - Manicaland, Midlands, Masvingo and Matabeleland South - where 15,000ha of land has been earmarked for the ambitious project.
Conrad Zawe, the irrigation department director at the ministry of agriculture, said: "The need for the country to be dependent on irrigation schemes cannot be overemphasised. Naturally, rainfall patterns have not been reliable over the past years and we need to move to irrigation schemes, which are more reliable."
The project is intended to complement the failed Command Agriculture initiative that gobbled up at least US$3bn in the past two years and will siphon ZWL$3bn from the national purse by next year.
The cash-strapped government has since partnered with the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians and the Opec Fund for International Development, for technical and financial support.
The first phase of the programme is to rehabilitate existing but dilapidated irrigation schemes.
"So far we have done preparatory works. There have been feasibility studies in Masvingo, Manicaland and Midlands covering 600ha. We are now in the procurement phase before we can commence the actual rehabilitation," said Zawe.
The government has also set aside US$37m for the Zhowe Dam in Matabeleland South. The region, the backbone of Zimbabwe's cattle ranching industry, is the hardest hit by drought.
"We want to build a canal which will also lead water to Beitbridge town and augment water [supply] there. We will build night storage and irrigations schemes measuring 2,500ha," said Zawe. That project is being financed by the Kuwait Fund.
The programme on medium-sized farms will cost US$16m, financed through a credit facility with Pedstock, a subsidiary of Israeli firm Nikuv International Projects, which was linked to alleged election rigging in 2013.
Reports at the time alleged that Nikuv manipulated election servers to hand former president Robert Mugabe a landslide victory.
Beneficiary farmers are expected to repay the loan.
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