By Beatific Gumbwanda
MKWASINE – Disaster is looming in Mkwasine Sugar Estates following the subsequent decline in water levels due to El Nino-induced drought, with major supply dams, Siya and Manirenji currently at 38% capacity.
The situation which has been largely exacerbated by the El Nino induced drought, has resulted in the water not able to sustain irrigation of 12 000ha of sugarcane owned by individuals at Mkwasine Sugarcane Estates.
Zimbabwe Sugarcane Development Association (ZSDA) Chairperson Elisha Tamirepi told TellZim News that the water situation in Mkwasine Estate was disheartening as most farmers are struggling to irrigate their crops.
“The cane is quite small as you can see; this is due to stunted growth because there is no enough water. Our dams are at 38% capacity because there was literally no rainfall this season due to El Nino. We are not expecting much yield as some farmers are just maintaining the crop so that they have seed for next season,” said Tamirepi.
He went on to urge the government to construct more dams like Mkazi and Mkwasine which were already pegged so that they augment water supplies in Mkwasine Estates.
“We pray that the Government helps in the construction of Mkazi and Mkwasine dams in order to ease water challenges in Mkwasine. I also want to urge farmers to adopt new technological methods of irrigation that conserve water,” Tamirepi said.
One farmer Abel Mtembwa said if the two dams were constructed, Mkazi has an estimate of 23 000 megaliters while Mkwasine will have 180 000 megalitres.
Initially, Manjirenji and Siya dams were irrigating less than 700ha back then but the plots continued expanding without taking water supply into consideration.
Mkwasine Estate was abandoned by Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe (THZ) in 2006 after the Government took over through the land reform programme.
