Report Shows Half of Zimbabwe's Fertile Farmland Underused
Zimbabwe, once the breadbasket of the region, has been reduced to a basket case following a chaotic agrarian reform programme which disrupted commercial agricultural production and rendered the land unbankable.
According to a 2016 performance report by Auditor-General Mildred Chiri on the management of irrigation schemes, agriculture, once the backbone of the economy, is not realising its full potential due to a shortage of mechanised equipment. The report further showed that 56% of irrigable land is underutilised.
The study was necessitated by an outcry from Zimbabweans over the collapse of most irrigation schemes. The few that remain operational are facing a plethora of challenges.
Irrigation schemes which were managed by the department of irrigation development under the ministry of Agriculture were meant to augment natural rainfall to curb food shortages and ensure food security.
Charles Nhemachena/CDKNetwork