Lupaka Irrigation Scheme in Lupane, initiated by Amalima Loko, has become a beacon of hope for Ward 10 villagers who have been struggling to make ends meet due to harsh living conditions induced by both the economy and climate challenges.
With the irrigation scheme providing a steady source of income and balanced nutrition, the project has enabled its beneficiaries to achieve a sustainable livelihood and improve their quality of life.
This initiative comes at a time when the country is battling with the El-Nino-induced drought.
Tackling climate change is an urgent global priority, more so in Africa, as the continent houses nine out of the ten most vulnerable countries to climate change.
In response to this pressing challenge, Amalima Loko, funded by the USAID/Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance and led by CNFA, serves to improve food security in Zimbabwe through increased food access, sustainable watershed management and improved livelihoods and health.
It seeks to elevate the livelihoods of more than 67,000 vulnerable households across five districts of Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland North, focusing on areas in Binga, Hwange, Lupane, Nkayi, and Tsholotsho.
One of the Lupaka Irrigation Scheme beneficiaries and the project secretary, Nomvula Nyoni, narrated to CITE that the project found them at an opportune time when they needed alternative ways of improving their livelihoods and have steady sources of income that would enable them to sustain their families.
The project has a total of 75 beneficiaries, consisting of 39 women and 36 men, with each entitled to at least 12 000 plants of tomatoes, 180 cabbages and several other crops-butternut and chilies among other vegetables.
“We can see that we are headed for better days. We are confident that our days of poverty are over. We are optimistic that we will get all that we need through this project,” Nyoni said.
“These are our first crops, and they came out well. We hope that we will have better yields going forward. We have been growing crops in the past, but we never tried cabbage. We have learnt a lot about it we now know how to deal with various challenges that affect it. We still have some space that we have not yet ploughed. We are confident that when we get to it, we will improve and get even better yields.”
Nyoni said each member contributed US$18 towards the purchase of seedlings and necessary chemicals and thus far they have harvested at least 631 cabbages which they sold at a dollar per head locally and in Lupane.
She noted that as people who are still finding their feet in farming on a large scale, they are still learning how to penetrate the market.
“Since we are starting up, we are still struggling with market penetration. So far we are selling to locals and at Lupane Center. Our wish is to have as much support as we can on how to penetrate markets. We also need to have a vehicle that will enable us to deliver our produce. At the moment, we sometimes ask our clients to come with their vehicles to collect what they would have bought.”
Nyoni expressed gratitude to Amalima Loko for the irrigation infrastructure that has been set up at the irrigation scheme to improve their access to water, which is drawn from Shangani River.
“There are three engines that draw water from the Shangani River which we use for irrigation. We also have four 10,000-litre Jojo tanks that we use for storing water. We only had challenges around October and November because the river was also drying up but after receiving some bit of rain between December and now, the situation has greatly improved.”
She said that should funding for the project comes to an end, the community can sustain it because they are already contributing some money per member towards the maintenance of the infrastructure.
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Amalima Loko Chief of Party, Dominic Graham noted that the irrigation scheme is less connected to the rainfall, hence it serves as a buffer for the locals, especially at the peak of the drought.
“Everybody is very much aware of the current El-Nino conditions in Zimbabwe, which has turned this into a very difficult growing season. The rains were very late, perhaps about two months late for this area which means that all the rain-fed crops are now far behind from where they ought to be at this time of the year,” Graham said.
“The importance of such projects is that they are less connected to rainfall, so they provide something as a buffer, against these kinds of climate shocks. The water that is drawn from Shangani River for this irrigated plot of course somehow depends on rainfall but because the water sources comes from five meters below the river, even if it does rain, there is still plentiful water that should see this project through to October if there is no more rain, although we sincerely hope that there will be.”
Graham said the project gives people more confidence to invest in other new business ideas and the more that people can diversify the enterprises they are involved with the more they can protect themselves from such risks such as El-Nino.
“The rain-fed crops may not work, maybe the irrigated ones will, or maybe even some of the rain-fed ones may, it is the nature of farming. But if they can also diversify from that, using the money that they get from sales generated here into other trade businesses not directly linked to rainfall. The risk profile will be changed and be put in a better position. We sincerely hope people will take advantage of this opportunity to do that too.”
Parts of areas of Lupane, Matabeleland North Province, fall under region four, one of the driest areas in the country that receive little rainfall.
Statistics from the Rural Livelihoods Assessment 2023 Report by the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC), show that Matabeleland North receives the highest amount of food support from both the government (40.5%) and the UN/NGOs (14.8%).
The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare recently announced that as part of efforts to alleviate hunger across the country after receiving ZWL$11 billion towards the program.
The government also noted that to complement food distribution, there will be increased crop input distribution, and the utilisation of the crops will be enforced by Agritex officers.
District Agricultural Extension Officer for Lupane, Sukoluhle Dube, applauded the project, citing that such initiatives are vital in complementing government efforts in improving food security and income.
Irrigation schemes are more important if there is water. This will help with food and security income. Farmers now need to learn more about horticulture, learning what to grow and when to grow it,” she said.
“Irrigation scheduling must also be implemented to help farmers know how and when to water their crops. Right now, when we look at our gardens, some are moister than others. All this must be regularised. We will also do soil testing and analysis after harvesting the crops that are on the ground, here at our local university, Lupane State.”
Addressing the issue on access to markets for the beneficiaries, Dube said: “We need to have crop calendars. We want to grow to sell not to grow and sell. These are two different things. The market will not take everything at the same time, so we need to work on value addition to our crops.”
Lupane Development District Coordinator, Ennety Sithole, commended the project, citing Amalima Loko as helping the government eradicate hunger.
“We are lucky because there are other areas that are struggling with access to water in our region. This is a drought season, and Lupane is generally a dry area with little rain. But fortunately, we have this project to curb hunger,” Sithole said.
“The government has plans to bring in food assistance which is set to start in a short while. I urge farmers to work closely with agricultural officers so that they can grow the right crops at the right time and get the right amount of harvests. We are also grateful to Agritex for providing technical advice. Our farmers need to learn more about types of irrigation, preserving moisture and making the soil more fertile. Value addition to the crops is also essential. Water is gold from heaven, use it wisely.”
