Major Dams Dry Up, Curbing Sugar Cane Production in Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) is set to discontinue supplies to Hippo Valley, Triangle and Mupapa sugarcane estates unless there are dramatic improvements in dam inflows.
With October nearing its end, the country has not started receiving rains despite earlier forecasts, raising fears that the dam water level might indeed drop to unmanageable levels.
The dams that supply the sugar estates get water from Mutirikwi, Bangala and Muzhwi rivers and account for 70 percent of the entire area under sugarcane in the Lowveld that covers 40,000 hectares.
John Payne