Govt courts private sector

LIVINGSTONE MARUFU

Government has launched a bold initiative to develop 120 000 hectares of land under irrigation within the next two years, in a bid to combat the worsening effects of climate change, particularly the recurring droughts that have plagued the country over the past decade.

Although Zimbabwe boasts approximately 10 600 water bodies, enough to irrigate up to 2 million hectares, the country is currently utilising just 217,000 hectares for irrigation.

This underutilisation of available water resources has become a major concern for the government as it seeks to secure national food production in an increasingly unpredictable climate.

In a latest government report, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr. Anxious Masuka underscored the urgency of the situation and called for greater collaboration between the public and private sectors to unlock the nation’s irrigation potential.

“The Irrigation Development Alliance, a government-initiated, private-sector-led collaboration for exploitation of innovative financing arrangements to unlock resources to develop 120,000 hectares of irrigation in the next two years, has begun to bear fruit,” Dr. Masuka said. “There is an increase in the frequency of droughts. With this drought prognosis, irrigation will have to be undertaken for longer periods, with any power-induced disruption having severe negative effects.”

He said that Zimbabwe had chronically under-invested in irrigation—what he described as a “vital enabler”—and was now suffering the consequences, particularly threats to food security.

Climate models project that Zimbabwe will become drier in the coming decades, with a rise in extreme weather events. In light of this, Dr. Masuka emphasised the need to accelerate irrigation development as a means of climate-proofing agriculture.

“The targeted 350,000 hectares of summer irrigation by 2025 cannot be achieved with a ‘business as usual’ approach. Radical innovative financing mechanisms are required, as only a proportion of the irrigation development has been undertaken by the government,” he added.

As part of this broader strategy, the government is also targeting the drilling of 10 000 boreholes in 10 000 villages to bolster food security at the grassroots level. Emphasis is being placed on solar-powered boreholes, especially in light of a nationwide blackout in February 2024 that disrupted many irrigation operations despite post-paid electricity arrangements.

“An investment of US$160 million is needed for the solarisation of the boreholes, and the process should also be accelerated to avert main grid switch-offs,” said Dr. Masuka. “Once available, irrigation must be complemented by affordable water charges.”

To facilitate a more enabling policy environment, the government is moving to gazette a 31% tariff reduction for irrigation water and to streamline both the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) and Water Acts. These regulatory reforms aim to reduce red tape and improve efficiency in the water management sector.

Government statistics show that of the current 217,000 hectares under irrigation, approximately 46,000 hectares are dedicated to sugarcane and other plantation crops. This leaves limited space for expanding food crop production under irrigation unless new schemes are developed.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Professor Obert Jiri, recently led a charm offensive targeting potential investors to bankroll the expansion of irrigation infrastructure. The government aims to increase the national irrigated area to 350,000 hectares by 2025.

Prof. Jiri also appealed to financial institutions to actively support this vision, arguing that increased irrigation coverage would significantly reduce the agricultural sector’s risk profile—making it more attractive for bank financing.

“The increased irrigation development to the required levels of 350,000 hectares will reduce the risk profile of their loan book by a huge margin, given that they will be funding something that they are guaranteed of getting a return on,” Prof. Jiri explained.

He added that irrigation-backed agriculture would enhance loan performance and reduce the occurrence of non-performing loans, offering banks a more stable and predictable investment environment.

“The irrigation people will also unlock banks’ business in a big way, as non-performing loans will be a thing of the past, given harvest guarantees that irrigation provides,” he said.

Development partners, he noted, would also be more likely to shift their focus from providing humanitarian assistance to investing in sustainable development initiatives if the country demonstrates a serious commitment to irrigation.

“Everyone should come together so that we must unlock the vast potential in Zimbabwe as a country. Our agriculture should be climate-proofed through irrigation development. The production is limited to the irrigable land that we have,” Prof. Jiri said.

Despite having the second-largest water resources in southern Africa after South Africa, Zimbabwe has struggled to fully exploit this natural endowment. Government officials have expressed frustration that these resources remain underutilised while the country remains vulnerable to food insecurity.

As Zimbabwe moves to scale up irrigation development, the success of the programme will largely depend on the level of private sector participation, access to innovative financing solutions, and the timely implementation of supportive policy reforms.

If the country can effectively harness its abundant water resources and improve its irrigation capacity, it may finally achieve the long-elusive goal of food self-sufficiency in the face of an increasingly hostile climate.