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Mrs Veronica Munkuli (second from left) leads workers during a tour of Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme which was assisted by First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe

Herald Reporters
THE launch of the Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme following the timely intervention of First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe has brought much excitement amid hope for food sustainability in the dry and arid district.

Binga District has for years relied on food handouts owing to erratic rainfall patterns. Described as “God-given” by the Binga community, Amai Mugabe has described the district as holding a special place in her heart while committing herself to working for the development of the region.

The irrigation scheme, with capacity to put 16 000 hectares under irrigation, can transform agricultural productivity for the estimated 130 000 people in the district.

In an interview, Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme chairperson Mrs Veronica Munkuli said the Binga community was grateful to Amai Mugabe for the assistance she has rendered to the project.

“For us, she is God-given because her angelic vision has seen what many had described as a pipe dream. “The project had been run down since its establishment in 2004. When the First Lady visited the district, she promised to work for the revitalisation of the project and we are expecting to start enjoying the fruits of this project,” she said.

Some of the equipment which was provided by First Lady Amai Mugabe to assist Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme

Binga lies in Natural Regions 4 and 5, which are characterised by low rainfall with severe dry spells during the rainy season and frequent seasonal droughts.

Although the region is considered unsuitable for dry land cropping, smallholder farmers grow drought-tolerant varieties of maize, sorghum, pearl millet (mhunga) and finger millet (rapoko).

The irrigation scheme had failed to take off due to financial challenges until Amai Mugabe intervened. The First Lady sourced farming equipment including tractors, knapsack sprayers, water pumping units and disc ploughs and harrows.

The multi-million dollar project draws water from the Zambezi River. A total of 100 hectares has been put under seed maize. Mrs Munkuli said the scheme would go a long way in averting food shortages that have been a constant threat to economic development in the area.

“For years we have been praying for such assistance as we have received from the First Lady. We are excited and hopeful that we will not only grow food for ourselves but other areas that border our district,” she said.

Committee member Mr Titus Munkuli said the project had also helped in providing employment opportunities to the community. “The huge investment that has been poured into the project has been a welcome development in the area. If people had doubts about the First Lady, I think visiting this project would open their eyes to the reality that Amai Mugabe is indeed the mother of this nation,” he said.

Binga Rural District Council chief executive Mr Joshua Muzamba said the support received from Amai Mugabe would turn around the economic fortunes of the once marginalised district.

“We definitely appreciate the support we got from Amai Mugabe and this will ensure that we tackle the food shortages that we have experienced over the years. “Binga is a district that is faced with perennial food deficits that have seen us relying more on donations, but we are excited that the project is up and running,” he said.

A worker sprays herbicides to crops at Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme. The scheme was assisted by First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe. — (Pictures by Innocent Makawa)

Mr Muzamba said it was unfortunate that the district always faced food shortages while lying along a huge water body like the Zambezi River.

“We believe with the support we have received, when fully utilised, the project will provide not only food, but also have huge economic spin-offs while stimulating economic growth in other areas linked to agricultural production,” he said.

“It is also exciting that the project has not ended as a plan, but is actually on. We expect the irrigation scheme not only to provide employment, but to also help in irrigation skills development and we will have smaller projects across the district.”

According to resident technician, Mr Kohli Takaiwona, the project has seen the clearing of 100 hectares that has been put under seed maize while more land will be prepared for more crops.

“We are looking at planting 200 hectares of seed maize under irrigation and that could not have been possible without the assistance we received from Amai Mugabe,” he said.

Mr Takaiwona said at least 16 000 families would directly benefit from the project, with each family getting at least one hectare of land for agricultural production.

The First Lady’s assistance has seen the project getting four centre-pivots, five tractors, three vicon spreaders, three four-row planters, two disc harrows, three disc ploughs and other equipment. Water to the project is drawn from the Zambezi River, which is about 10 kilometres away from the irrigation scheme.

The Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme has been identified as one of the key economic development projects in Binga District expected to create thousands of jobs as well as contributing significantly to the country’s national food security in line with Zim-Asset under the Food Security and Nutrition Cluster.

The irrigation scheme is also earmarked for sugar cane, sugar beans, bananas, wheat and soya beans among other crops.