The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
THE rehabilitation of the 500-hectare Romsely Irrigation Scheme, which is poised to transform the dry parts of Makoni into a green belt, will be ready for a test-run in June as 60 percent of work has been completed.
The scheme is earmarked for high-value horticultural crops, grains and oil crops.
The US$5 million investment is in line with the Second Republic’s determination to unleash the area’s agricultural potential after decades of declining productivity due to climate change and the shortage of water.
Government is working round the clock to ensure that small-scale farmers are food secure and are also able to sell their excess.
Romsely is being rehabilitated under the Small-holder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme (SIRP), a seven-year programme that seeks to build the resilience of small-holder farming communities.
Provincial Irrigation Engineer, Engineer Tendai Chimunhu said three contracts were in full swing to cover weir construction and canal rehabilitation, as well as installation of centre pivots, pumps and the main line.
Engineer Chimunhu said 17 state-of-the-art centre pivots have since been installed.
A total of 24 state-of-the-art centre pivots will be installed, thereby making it the first irrigation facility in Manicaland to be propelled by a sprinkler irrigation system that is famed for its high efficiency, uniformity and ability to irrigate uneven terrain; as well as low maintenance costs.
The outstanding seven centre pivots are expected to be installed by April 30, 2023.
The centre pivots move through the field by electrically powered tractor wheels.
“The project is 60 percent complete, and works on the key elements of the project have been tremendous. The infield works, which include the centre pivots, pumps and the main line are 81 percent complete.
“Work on the weir is 94 percent complete, and what is left are the snags, which ordinarily refers to putting final touches to the work that has been done.
“As we speak, 17 centre pivots have been installed, and we expect the contractor to complete installing the remaining seven by April 30,” said Engineer Chimunhu.
He said the entire irrigation infrastructure should be ready for test runs by the end of June 2023.
“Apart from the centre pivots, four pump houses have been completed, with seven pumps having been delivered. Five of them have already been installed.
“Canal excavation is at 54 percent, the major hitch is that the excavator is currently down and being attended to. Canal hydraulics are at 15 percent, while land clearance is slightly behind schedule as the farmers have been busy in the fields.
“Some of them have finished harvesting and there is now going to be a significant improvement in terms of land clearance. All the same, land clearance should be through by the end of June,” he said.
Engineer Chimunhu said canal excavation and relining of collapsing sections are also progressing well.
He said the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has also installed four 8-kilometre power lines and is currently in the process of acquiring four transformers for the pumping houses.
To ensure sustainability, Government introduced a model where modern technology is installed and managed centrally, with farmers operating as a unit on a commercial basis.
About 533 beneficiaries who are also contributing labour towards the project will be hand-held by the Agriculture and Rural Development Authority (ARDA).
ARDA will also second a business manager who will come up with a business plan that will be followed by the farmers over a period of five years.
After that period, the farmers will be expected to manage their own affairs as an independent agribusiness entity.
This is a departure from the past where individuals would be in charge of specific pieces of land, with many of them running unsustainable operations.
