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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
GOVERNMENT has released $600 million to speed up the rehabilitation of Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme in Binga, Matabeleland North with full-scale farming operations expected next month.

The irrigation scheme will transform the district, previously viewed as lagging behind in terms of development despite its vast potential.

It is envisaged that the irrigation scheme, which is currently being expanded to cover 15  000 hectares, will promote food and nutrition security in the country, which is reeling under the effects of climate change and recurrent drought.

The contractor Petrico, has since moved on-site and some of the equipment, which includes pipes have been delivered.

Pipe bursts have over the years derailed efforts to fully implement the project which at one stage employed close to 200 people.

The Second Republic is prioritising the revival of the agricultural sector through the development of irrigation schemes to guarantee food security particularly in rural communities. Government, under the Agriculture Recovery Plan, has set aside 100 000 hectares of land, which will be transformed into a greenbelt with an anticipated yield of at least 1 million tonnes of maize annually within the next three years

At Bulawayo Kraal, there have been challenges with rain-fed cropping because of erratic rains in the district.

Government wants Binga district to enhance food security by growing crops under irrigation.

The Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda) is now in charge of the Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme after taking over from the Department of Irrigation.

Last year Arda awarded a tender for piping, repairing, and installation of a new pumping and piping system for the scheme, which draws water from the Zambezi River.

The scheme has seven centre pivots and four are in good condition and ready for use.

When Chronicle visited the project site this week, the news crew observed some of the delivered irrigation materials at the site.

A makeshift holding dam which will be used as a reservoir is ready for use within the scheme.

Arda chief executive Mr Tinotenda Mhiko said Government has released $600 million for the finalisation of the rehabilitation of the Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme.

The irrigation project is expected to produce crops three times a year under irrigation.

“The $600 million funding for Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme is intended to move the scheme from the 60 percent completion level when a 10km pipeline from the Zambezi River was installed. The contractor is back on site to finish rehabilitating the system and we are now in the process of installing the main and booster pumps and subsequent electrification,” said Mr Mhiko.

“Our target is to complete the system and commence irrigation by early April 2023.”

Mr Mhiko said once rehabilitation work is completed, they intend to grow 400 hectares of food and oil crops in three cycles annually through zero-tillage cropping.

The contractor is expected to complete the rehabilitation works and connecting pipes within three weeks.

Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme has 99 members from Dumbwe and Bulawayo Kraal villages, although about 50 still active.

A fisheries project will be set-up on the scheme to enable the project to viably accommodate more communities and beneficiaries.

This will provide food for the greater Binga community with a possibility of expansion into value addition and beneficiation.

The project is set to be the biggest in Matabeleland North and to provide food security, not only in the district, but for the whole of Matabeleland North.

Once fully operational, the scheme will improve livelihoods and standards of living as enunciated in Vision 2030, implemented through the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).

The scheme will see the nearby Manjolo area being transformed into a fully-fledged Growth Point with houses for workers, a police station and clinic.

The nearby Bulawayo Kraal Primary and Secondary schools will also benefit.

The project manager Mr Pitigoli Muleya said scheme members were eagerly waiting for the project to start operating.

He said some members had been allowed to clear small plots inside the scheme.

Established in 1996 after local villagers from Manjolo and Siachilaba approached Government for assistance in terms of developing an irrigation scheme to cushion them from the adverse effects of drought, Bulawayo Kraal faced a series of challenges in terms of funding.

However, with the coming of the Second Republic, the face of Bulawayo Kraal has changed. The revitalisation of Bulawayo Kraal is in line with President Mnangagwa’s thrust to ensure the realisation of Matabeleland North’s full economic potential in line with the devolution policy.–@ncubeleon