THE Government has introduced various programmes to fast track the development of irrigation infrastructure, as the country moves to climate-proof agriculture to boost production and give impetus to the drive to attain an upper middle income economy by 2030.
Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Deputy Minister Vangelis Haritatos said the expansion of irrigable land was crucial in supporting the country’s attainment of an empowered and prosperous upper middle income economy as well as achieving National Development Strategy (NDS1) targets.
The Government is targeting to place 420 000 hectares under irrigation to meet the growing demand for irrigation due to climate change.
“Irrigation expansion is a result based intervention set to directly impact the attainment of Vision 2030,” said Haritatos.
To achieve set targets, the Government in collaboration with private sector partners is making efforts directed at closing the mechanisation gap.
“We created the Irrigation Development Alliance (IDA), which is a framework that seeks to promote investments in irrigation expansion by supporting partnerships between financial institutions, irrigation companies and farmers,” said Dep Min Haritatos.
The country has many water resources with an estimated potential to irrigate over two million hectares. The Government is therefore partnering the private sector to tap into these water bodies to increase the area under irrigation.
“We have good soils across the country and the only way we can guarantee maximum land utilisation is by ensuring our farmers have two seasons per year by promoting continuous production,” Dep Min Haritatos said, highlighting how irrigation farming can help farmers diversify farming operations.
To effect irrigation development, the Government is spearheading the construction of 12 high impact dams that will modernise the agricultural sector in line with the national drive to establish a modern, sustainable and climate smart agricultural sector.
In addition, the Government is drilling 35 000 boreholes throughout the country, thanks to the Presidential Horticulture Recovery Plan.
The Government also has a running on-lending agreement with CBZ Agro-Yield and Maka Commercial Irrigation company that are positioned to roll out a programme targeting 80 000ha for A2 farmers to supplement the IDA.
“Food security can only be guaranteed if irrigation development meets national demand. We can no longer rely on rain fed agriculture as a sustainable and viable option to food self-sufficiency in our country,” said the Deputy Minister.
Director of the Department of Irrigation Development engineer Bezzel Chitsungo recently said the country had 185 000 hectares of functional irrigation and full time crops such as sugarcane, citrus and tea among other crops grown by commercial estates. – The Herald
