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Innocent Ruwende Municipal Reporter
Government has slashed the price of raw water for farmers, industries, estates and mines that draw the commodity from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (zinwa) dams countrywide by between 27 percent and 56 percent.

This was done to encourage small scale farmers to establish irrigation schemes and ensure food security.

The new tariffs entail the reduction by 27 percent of raw water price for A2 farmers and a 40 percent decrease for A1 farmers.

Communal farmers also had their tariffs reduced by 56 percent, while those for estates have been cut by 27 percent.

The new tariffs are effective from December 1, 2015 and are meant to encourage small scale farmers to take up irrigation water and to allow zinwa to raise money for the maintenance of existing dams and related water infrastructure.

zinwa public relations manager, Ms Marjorie Munyonga said the new tariffs would also encourage efficient water use at the same time allowing zinwa to raise resources for the completion of new water projects.

“The reduction in the tariffs for farmers is set to trigger more irrigation water use especially in times when rain-fed agriculture is now difficult due to the unpredictable rainfall patterns. The move is also in line with the 10-point plan which is anchored on the revitalisation of agriculture and the agro-processing value chain.

“The move is also in sync with other Government programmes aimed at improving the country’s agricultural performance such as the distribution of irrigation equipment sourced through bilateral arrangements with countries such as Brazil, India and South Korea to small scale farmers,” she said.