Story by Mercy Bofu
CLOSE to 1 000 households are benefitting from the rehabilitation of the Mushandike irrigation scheme in Masvingo under the government’s Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme.
As the Second Republic continues to improve food and nutrition security in the country, the people of Mushandike in Masvingo are the latest to benefit from the rehabilitation of irrigation schemes.
What is even more remarkable is that members of the irrigation scheme are now able to grow crops all year round.
“We are grateful to the government for rehabilitating this irrigation scheme, as you can see, we have already put our wheat and we are now able to grow various crops all year round.”
The programme as you can see, will ensure improved livelihoods because we are even growing cash crops. Again, the number of beneficiaries from this irrigation scheme has increased to nearly a thousand,” said some of the scheme beneficiaries.
Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Monitoring Implementation of Government Programmes, Ms Fananai Madambi who was on an assessment tour of the irrigation scheme this Thursday spoke on the government’s thrust of improving livelihoods in rural communities.
“To ensure that no one and no place is left behind, the government has put in place programmes to help local communities cope with the effects of climate change thus the coming in of the smallholder irrigation revitalization programme,” said Ms Madambi.
Masvingo province is targeting to irrigate 70 000 hectares of land under the National Development Strategy One.
Acting Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution – Masvingo, Mr Clever Chingwara said, “As a province with several water bodies we are expecting to have many irrigation schemes with communities being the biggest beneficiaries.”
Under the Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme, the government is targeting to rehabilitate 17 irrigation schemes in Masvingo province with water bodies such as the Tugwi Mukosi dam earmarked for irrigation development.
