Zimbabwe needs a total of 350 000 hectares of land developed for climate proof agriculture, with about US$100 million required per year for the country to rehabilitate and develop water sources and move away from rain-fed agriculture towards food security.
Infrastructure and agriculture development, as well as provision of clean water are some of the key focus areas on the country’s development agenda as the Second Republic targets an upper middle-income society by 2030.
Speaking on the first day of the inaugural infrastructure summit organised by the National Economic Consultative Forum (NECF) here on Thursday, Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) director for engineering and hydrological services Engineer Takudza Makwangudze said more water sources are needed for the country to transition from rain-fed agriculture to food security.
Eng Makwangudze said Zimbabwe has 10 000 dams with a total holding capacity 10,5 billion cubic metres of water, which is 22 percent of maximum potential of 47,3 billion cubic metres or 80 percent of the water used in agriculture.
He said 12 high impact dams and conveyancing projects with a total volume of 1,9 billion cubic metres of water are under construction, with about US$3 billion invested. About US$2.4 billion is required to complete these projects.
About 53 future dam projects are lined up, at a total cost of US$7 billion and will give a combined storage of 42 billion cubic metres, giving the country a permanent solution to water challenges, which is key to a successful agricultural sector.
Some of the ongoing projects include Lake Gwayi-Shangani in Matabeleland North, which is over 60 percent towards completion and expected to catapult irrigation on the corridor between the dam site and Bulawayo, besides permanently solving the city’s perennial water shortages.
_edit2.jpg "Zimbabwe Moves Away From Rain-Fed Agriculture to Borehole-Fed Agriculture") |
| Zimbabwe Moves Away From Rain-Fed Agriculture to Borehole-Fed Agriculture |
“We need to move away from rain-fed agriculture to achieve Vision 2030. Water is very key to all sectors of the economy and it is important that we focus on the sector. In terms of our potential, we have 10 000 dams but in terms of capacity, we have room to build more dams as way of boosting our agriculture.
“We require additional funding of US$2,4 billion and we are still far from completing the projects. These projects are purely funded by Government with less private sector activity,” said Eng Makwangudze.
He was speaking during a panel discussion on current infrastructure projects and funding requirements.
Eng Makwangudze said about 216 000ha have been developed for irrigation purposes but 40 000ha of it needs rehabilitation.
“The country needs 350 000ha developed to climate proof agriculture. Of the developed land, 60 000ha are plantations leaving 116 000ha effectively in use and a deficit of 234 000ha.
“In order to improve rural livelihoods, Government has embarked on an ambitious project to drill 35 000 boreholes countrywide at a total cost US$350 million with 2 400 targeted in 2022.
“Coverage of potable water supply is currently at 82 percent for us to achieve 100 percent by 2030 and an annual investment of US$100 million may be required. For us to achieve the 350 000ha, we need close to US$3 billion,” he said.
The US$3 billion will cover rehabilitation of the non-functional schemes and water sources, expansion of the existing irrigation network, development of irrigation systems for on-going dam projects, and increased utilisation of groundwater resources and trans-boundary river systems for irrigation.
Eng Makwangudze said investors were less willing to invest in water projects because it is treated as a social project when it should be an economic good where investors can recoup their funding after coming up with the project.
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