Story by Tapiwa Machemedze
FARMERS in Chesa, Mount Darwin, are appealing for urgent government intervention through a large-scale dam desilting programme to improve irrigation capacity and bolster commercial crop production.
As Zimbabwe celebrates its independence, focus has turned to efforts aimed at revitalising small-scale commercial farming areas, formerly known as African Purchase Areas.
Speaking at a field day event held in Mount Darwin, local legislator Honourable James Makamba stressed the need for targeted government support to address the growing water scarcity in the region.
“The biggest problem we face in Mt Darwin and Chesa is water, it is a dry area, the dams which were sunk here in Chesa are almost dried up or they are silted. Our appeal is for the government to come up with some intervention to make these former African purchase areas now called small-scale farms viable. We really need an intervention, it could be with cattle, with crops, certainly with water,” Honourable Makamba said.
Pfura Rural District Council Ward 29, Councillor Heavens Randazha backed calls for government assistance, highlighting that the council has managed to desilt Nyamhara dam and requires assistance to desilt several other dams which sustain local farmers.
“The farm here belongs to someone who was assisting the government fight hunger. I am happy the dam that we see here was desilted. We spent three weeks desilting it, trying to get into government’s NDS1 vision of eradicating hunger,” Councillor Randazha said
30 hectares of maize were planted at Kanwemvura farm with farmers, agronomists, government officials and war veterans commending the milestone at the farm.
“Some people think the soils in Chesa are clay and we cannot grow food but we have seen a sterling example of production through the big cobs of maize here,” a farmer said.
“We have places like Chesa where water is scarce so we saw it fit to produce seed suitable for those areas,” a seed prodder said.
“We have come here to learn and see the example being set by our leaders but at the same time we are also compiling information on the challenges for onward submission to government,” Mount Darwin District Development Coordinator, Mr White Nkoma said.
Information from Agritex shows up to 38 000 hectare of maize were planted in Mount Darwin in the 2024/2025 summer season with an expected harvest of close to 14 000 metric tonnes metric tonnes.
