Story by Mhlomuli Ncube
BUBI-Lupane Irrigation Scheme is poised for yet another good season after its members successfully secured crop financing through affordable loans.
After establishing a village business unit that has become the national template of all-year-round irrigation, the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) administered scheme continues to contribute to national food security.
This year, the farmers planted a 120-hectare maize crop with funding to the tune of US$60 000.
ARDA assisted the Irrigation Scheme in securing the critical package, oiling the government’s rural development agenda in an area once famed for its barren desert conditions but now turned into an agriculture production hub.
The farmers running the scheme are excited about current production settings.
“We have 120 hectares of maize under cultivation using two pivots. The third pivot is yet to be used as we await more funding and as soon as we get it, we will start planting. As you can see for yourselves our crop is good and we are satisfied,” Bubi-Lupane Irrigation Scheme Chairperson, Mr Gerald Khumalo said.
The farmers in the scheme have also received modern day scientific knowledge on farming as the Second Republic emphasises the need to take agriculture as a business.
“We have seen our farmers adopt a truly business approach here, even when the rains were not promising. Their crop is good and there will be further expansion of this project. They are now a proven business scheme that is earning money and contributing to national food security,” ARDA Bubi-Lupane Irrigation Scheme Business Coordinator Mr Sindiso Mlalazi said.
The rural development approach taken by the government stresses the importance of creating employment within areas where citizens reside, commercialising agriculture and ensuring food security, beginning at household level.
With Bubi-Lupane farmers poised for yet another bountiful season, the approach has proved to be yet another success story in uplifting livelihoods in rural communities.
