Last Updated: Thursday, 9 January 2003
Open up more land for irrigation
By Ruth Butaumocho
AS the spectre of a second consecutive drought looms in Zimbabwe, fears abound
whether the economy can survive a similar battering it went through over the last
year.
With severe shortages of wheat and maize having characterised the just-ended
year, Zimbabweans are wondering whether adequate measures have been put in
place to mitigate against the effects of another drought.
On its part, the Government has set aside $3 billion for irrigation to ensure
continuous agricultural production irrespective of the rains to save the nation from
starvation.
The southern African region is faced with a severe drought, which has been
attributed to the El-Nino phenomenon, caused by temperature anomalies in the
Indian Ocean.
El Nino is the name give to the phenomena in the Pacific Ocean when parts of that
ocean become warmer than normal.
The temperature anomalies modify global weather patterns, with some areas
receiving more rain while others, including southern Africa, receiving less.
The Sadc Drought Monitoring Centre issued its first drought warning in December
last year for the current season, which forecast a below normal rainy season for
countries in the region.
In its warning, the Drought Monitoring Centre said while different areas in the
region would be hit with different degrees of weather patterns, the areas that were
likely to be worst affected were the whole of South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland,
south-west Zimbabwe and south-east Botswana.
Matabeleland South is likely not to harvest anything as it is expected to lose most
of its crop before harvest time.
Already most crops in this region are now in a poor condition, while crops in other
parts of the country, including Mashonaland Central, which usually receive above
normal rainfall, are suffering from severe moisture stress.
With effects of drought already being felt in the country, there is need for
co-ordinated planning and implementation involving all sectors to come up with a
solid contingency plan.
The first move that stakeholders may need to undertake is to open up more land
for irrigation in the seriously affected areas, and beef up resources with a view of
initiating similar projects in other parts of the country.
Farmers, through Government assistance, could make use of the recently
established irrigation department within the Ministry of Rural Resources and
Water Development to put a specific hectarage under irrigation for the production
of main crops like maize.
The Masvingo winter maize crop initiative is one such project, which could be
used as an example to ensure food security during drought periods.
The Masvingo Food Initiative has so far distributed 6 100 tonnes of maize to
various districts in the province.
The maize was harvested from 1 800 hectares of winter maize put under irrigation in
the sugar estates of Chiredzi.
The initiative, which is a brainchild of Masvingo provincial governor Cde Josiah
Hungwe was started last year as a solution to chronic food shortages that have
been haunting the province for years.
Impressed by the success story of the winter crop initiative in the Lowveld,
Zambian president Mr Levy Mwanawasa ordered immediate planting of 2 000
hectares of winter maize in Mazabuka, the Zambian version of the Zimbabwe’s
sugar estates in Chiredzi.
This followed a visit by President Mwanawasa and other representatives from
neighbouring countries to the Lowveld last year in April.
The adoption of the Masvingo Food Initiative by other Southern African
countries, including the drought-ravaged Zambia, is an indication that if
implemented on a large scale, the perennial food shortages in the region could be a
thing of the past.
The recently launched multi- billion-dollar supplementary irrigation programme in
Chegutu is another initiative which is poised for growth if given adequate support
from all stakeholders.
The programme will see selected resettled farmers being provided with capital to
start irrigation schemes on identified farms with dams and boreholes sometime this
week.
The Chegutu district administrator’s office has already identified 20 farmers
through a training process and they would be deployed to their respective farms in
due course.
In the same vein of propping up resources to mitigate effects of drought, the
Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettle-ment, Cde Joseph Made, was
recently quoted saying the Government had issued a tender to open up 100 000
hectares under irrigation. It is, however, not yet clear whether the tender has been
taken up.
Now that it has become apparent that the country is now prone to more droughts
than ever before, owing to the ever-changing climatic conditions, the Government
may need to allocate a portion of the national budget to the agriculture ministry
specifically for drought contingency.
In the event of a drought, this allocation to the agriculture ministry would then be
used to buy food as well as boost irrigation projects by procuring more equipment.
Contingent measures like these should not only be effected when there is an
anticipation of a severe drought as with the current scenario, but should be a
continuous and a systematic process.
The Government may also need to look at homegrown short solutions that include
promoting production of drought-resistant crops such as millet, sorghum and
rapoko on a large scale.
Both small and large scale farmers could embark on this. If successfully
implemented, the cereal crops would ensure adequate food for the nation.
While the Government is looking at how best it should improve food security in
the country, a concerted effort is also needed from various sectors in the country,
including the corporate world.
In his 15th State of the Nation address at the end of last year, President Mugabe
appealed to the corporate citizens to play a visible, responsible and meaningful
role to complement Government’s effort in feeding the nation.
Zimbabwe requires about two million tonnes of maize annually to meet its domestic
needs. Another drought in the face of current food shortages is set to worsen the
plight of many families.
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"Ivinicus factus sum veritabem diceus." ( I have become an enemy for speaking the truth ) St Paul!
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Mitayo Potosi
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