Zimbabwe targets 350 000 hactres under irrigation by 2025
By Delicious Mathuthu
The Zimbabwean government is targeting to increase the total land under irrigation to 350 000 hectares (ha) by year 2025 from the current 193 000 ha.
Through the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development’s irrigation rehabilitation and development agenda, private public partnerships will be the key driver to archive the target and ensure sustainability, a Ministry official has said.
Lands and Agriculture Ministry Permanent Secretary, Dr. John Bhasera, speaking at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare on the Zimbabwe Agricultural Transformation Agenda, said so far government has increased irrigation land by 43 000 ha from year 2020.
“[We have a]Target of 350 000Ha by 2025 from 150 000Ha in 2020, now [we have] 193 000Ha under irrigation.
“Full kit and quick fix programming under irrigation development is not the end game but viability is key,” Dr. Bhasera said.
He said the programme will be implemented under the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) management model.
He said the irrigation facilities to be installed in commercial and semi commercial farms will be on a cost recovery basis spear headed by private players while those for small holder and communal farmers will be facilitated by central government.
“Programmes targeting A1 and A2 farmers [will be] on a cost recovery model.
“Government facilitated and private sector led. [The] private sector
contributed 18k Ha of the 23k Ha achieved in 2022.
“Programmes to support smallholder irrigation rehabilitation and development are government funded,” Dr. Bhasera said.
He said government will also be facilitating for duty free importation of irrigation equipment and also try to harness pension and insurance funds for irrigation development.
The government facilitated private sector led programme will be led by the Irrigation Development Alliance (IDA) which is a framework that promotes investment in irrigation expansion.
Lands and Agriculture Deputy Minister, Vangelis Haritatos, as quoted in the media, is on record saying the IDA programme seeks to support “partnerships between financial institutions, irrigation companies and farmers to enhance programme effectiveness”.
Irrigation rehabilitation and development aims to build resilience to weather vulnerabilities and climate change shocks in the country’s agricultural sector.