daniel chigunweGeorge Maponga
Masvingo Bureau
MASVINGO Province is positioning itself as Zimbabwe’s national irrigation hub, with plans to develop a greenbelt covering nearly 80 000 hectares using water from Tugwi Mukosi Dam, the country’s largest interior water body.
Tugwi Mukosi, located at the confluence of the Tugwi and Mukosi rivers in Chivi, has a full capacity of 1,8 billion cubic meters of water.
Currently, the dam is approximately 61 percent full, primarily supplying water to cane plantations in the Lowveld, with a smaller portion supporting isolated irrigation schemes in Chivi and parts of Chiredzi district.
The Second Republic has identified the exploitation of Tugwi Mukosi’s resources as essential for transitioning from unreliable rain-fed agriculture, particularly in light of recurrent droughts exacerbated by climate change.
The Government’s initiative aims to ensure food security in alignment with Vision 2030.
The Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Ezra Chadzamira, announced that the Tugwi Mukosi Dam will serve as the backbone of a significant irrigation initiative in the Lowveld.
“We have earmarked a major irrigation development programme in Masvingo using water from Tugwi Mukosi Dam and are targeting 80 000 hectares to be irrigated, mainly in Mwenezi and Chiredzi districts,” he said.
Originally, the dam was expected to irrigate only 40 000 hectares, but advancements in irrigation technology have allowed for the doubling of this area.
The Government plans to collaborate with the private sector to open irrigable land in Mwenezi and Chiredzi, ensuring that families displaced by the dam also benefit from its resources.
President Mnangagwa previously donated 80 000 hectares at Nuanetsi Ranch in Mwenezi to meet the province’s resettlement land needs.
Much of this land will be developed for irrigation to ensure productive use throughout the year.
Minister Chadzamira highlighted that the full utilisation of Tugwi Mukosi for irrigation demonstrates the Government’s commitment to improving the lives of ordinary citizens and enhancing food security.
Water from the dam has already had a transformative impact on food security in the drier Chivi district, with the Banga irrigation scheme near Ngundu undergoing expansion and becoming a crucial food source.
The broader irrigation expansion in southern Masvingo aligns with the Integrated Lowveld Irrigation Development Master Plan, which envisions the creation of a vast greenbelt covering over 200,000 hectares. This greenbelt will focus on crops such as maize, wheat, sugar cane, and citrus.
This ambitious project is expected to gain further momentum with the construction of another major dam, Runde-Tende, at the confluence of the Runde and Tende rivers in southern Chivi.
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