Ishmael Mkandla
COMMUNITIES around Nyamandlovu’s Phaphamani Irrigation Scheme have pulled out of the 50 hectare project in large numbers citing a plethora of reasons including the exorbitant costs of practicing commercial farming.
So bad is the situation that out of 160 people who started the Phaphamani Irrigation Scheme in 2002 only 13 are remaining. The farm was set aside for commercial farming by government following a resettlement programme. But sady villagers in the area are struggling to fulfil government’s local empowerment objective.
A recent visit to the farm by The Zambezi Times news crew revealed a farm in dire straits.
“I am one of the many people who pulled out of the project, as we felt that it was not worth it. It was not benefiting us, rather it was milking our little coffers. The problem we faced there was the issue of bills from Zesa (Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority). The pumping system we used for farming was powered by electricity, so every month we would receive bills which we felt were too high as compared to what we would make after harvesting.
The other problem is that most of us lacked knowledge and necessary skills for commercial farming which could be one of the reasons why we struggled,” Ncube said.
Titus Mapholisa Moyo, who is the treasurer in the Phaphamani Irrigation scheme committee said they were trying all they could to resuscitate the project.
“Since 2002 when we took over this farm, we witnessed a number of community members dropping out of the scheme citing a number of reasons chief among them economic hardships.
One of the major reasons is that we do commercial farming. It involves a lot of costs, something which many felt they can’t afford hence pulling out,” he said.
He however singled out Zesa for contributing to their woes.
“As it is we have a big challenge, we have been without power since January 2018 up to today. We have been to Zesa offices several times but they haven’t given us a proper explanation.
“At some point they brought the cables and started replacing the stolen cables but along the way they disappeared and we never saw them again. Now the cables they left are now being stolen because they have been lying there for long.”
“We then tried solar panels but then the engineers told us that we needed a whole solar plant to be able to power the machines here,” he said.
“The other challenge we are facing here is that of animals that stray into our irrigation. So we are appealing for a fence that covers 3, 2 kilometers so that we can protect our fields,” Moyo said.
In a bid to support the project, The Zambezi Times witnessed that government has already installed a center pivot while boreholes are already being drilled.
“The government through the Public Service Investment programme has been helping us but we still need more help. Government has also been giving us input for free so that we can enhance food security through boosting productivity. We farm serials like wheat, maize and soya beans that we take to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).”
