shloboe boe
Chronicle Writer
THE country has recorded an all-time high wheat harvest with over 555 824 metric tonnes having been delivered by the end of November thanks to the Zimbabwe National Water Authority’s efficient and strong water resources management during the irrigation season.
In a statement yesterday, Zinwa head of corporate communications and marketing, Mrs Marjorie Munyonga said through its network of dams countrywide and building on the water stocks accumulated from previous seasons, the water utility fulfilled its mandate to help the country mitigate the impact of “floods, droughts and other hazards in line with the Zinwa Act.
“Water being the second most strategic resource in agriculture, coming only after the land and after the country experienced the worst El Nino induced drought in 43 years, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority ensured that farmers had water, necessary for the realisation of the Government’s wheat-based food security,” she said.
“To ensure a successful season and the achievement of the 120 000-hectare target for wheat, Zinwa instituted a thorough water audit in the dams with a view to ascertain the adequacy of the resource.”
Mrs Munyonga said the water audit was followed by vibrant stakeholder engagements with farmers’ unions, financiers and the farmers themselves, emphasising the need for farmers to obtain water abstraction agreements and to adhere to them at all times.
“After planting and throughout the whole season, Zinwa would work regularly monitor water abstractions including using GIS to detect and promptly respond to any acts of illegal water usage while our water bailiffs were under strict instruction not to release any water to individuals without water abstraction agreements,” she said.
“This ensured that all released water was channelled towards legitimate wheat farmers.”
To add impetus to the wheat season, Mrs Munyonga said Zinwa introduced seasonal billing for all wheat farmers, allowing them to access and utilise water during the cropping season and only pay after receiving payments from their financiers or off-takers of their produce through stop-order facilities.
“Seasonal billing, coupled with a reduced tariff of US$10,76 per megalitre for all A2 wheat farmers accorded farmers a chance to carry out their farming activities without any interruptions,” she said.
