SAMUEL NJINGA IN MASVINGO
Masvingo Province is targeting to undertake several agriculture projects sitting on more than 70 000 hectares of land , the Provincial Affairs Minister, Ezra Chadzamira said.
He said the projects, under the National Development Strategy1, will go a long way in agricultural output sustenance in the province and the nation in general.
“The Mushandike Muzhwi canal will see us getting an additional 3 500 hectares of land while upper Mutirikwi irrigation scheme is set to utilise 2 000 hectares of land. The period 2021 to 2025 should see Masvingo province coming up with many more projects sitting on more than 70 000 hectares of land,” Chadzamira told.
He said the construction of the Tende Runde dam will help export water to South Africa.Zimbabwe has experienced problems of food insecurity due to climate-induced droughts and lack of effective use of irrigation schemes.
Rainfall patterns in the province have become more unpredictable and inconsistent with the traditional farming seasons.Irrigation schemes are therefore perceived as the ultimate answer to some of the problems that farmers are going through, Chadzamira said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development Clemence Chiduwa says the 2022 national budget is centred on enhancing production as it focuses on empowering the youth and women through value addition.
“All that we want to do is to enhance production. Let me say that so far we have finished the stakeholder consultative meetings with the majority of the relevant people and groups in the country. The 2022 budget is not all that different from that of 2021. Our focus is however fundamentally on empowering the youth and women for the purpose of value addition,” he said.
