An irrigation scheme established in Chipinge in 1995 is finally supporting agricultural production after rehabilitation brought reliable water to 203 farmers, more than half of them women.
The 27-hectare Farai Irrigation Scheme in Ward 29 had remained underused for decades because of incomplete infrastructure and governance challenges, leaving farming families dependent on increasingly erratic rainfall.
Its rehabilitation under the Green Climate Fund-supported Climate Resilient Livelihoods Project introduced solar-powered pumping, improved water abstraction facilities and a modern irrigation network.
The project is implemented by the Zimbabwean government with support from the United Nations Development Programme.
Farmers have planted 18 hectares of sugar beans, five hectares of wheat and two hectares of maize in their first productive season following rehabilitation.
However, the first harvest is still pending, meaning the scheme’s eventual yields and impact on household incomes cannot yet be measured.
For Saliwe Khumbula, 51, the restoration follows decades of waiting.
“When this irrigation scheme was established in 1995, we believed our lives were about to change. But years passed and nothing happened. The infrastructure remained there, but we could not use it,” she said.
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“Now everything is different. We have water, we are learning better farming methods, and we can plan our farming with confidence.”
Of the scheme’s 203 beneficiaries, 112 are women.
Farmers are also receiving practical agricultural training through a Farmer Field School, where they assess crop performance, compare cultivation methods and share lessons under the guidance of agricultural extension officer Lorraine Chimbadzwa.
“The Farmer Field School approach is changing the way farmers think. Instead of simply telling them what works, they are seeing the results for themselves,” Chimbadzwa said.
Memory Maronga, 22, said access to irrigation had changed her view of agriculture as a livelihood.
“Many young people think farming is too risky because it depends on rainfall. Now we have reliable irrigation, and we are learning modern farming techniques. It has shown me that agriculture can become a real business,” she said.
The cost of rehabilitating the scheme was not disclosed.
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