Zimbabwe: Drip Irrigation Brings Hope in the Face of Climate Change
Buhle Nkomo Ketie Chapata, a small-scale tobacco farmer based in Odzi in Manicaland Province, could not contain her excitement after the successful installation of a drip facility at her plot last Friday.
The 43-year-old Chapata was over the moon. The development means better yields, improved quality and more money. "I can now transplant beginning of September and do not have to wait for the onset of the rains. "Last season my yield was low and so was my average price of $2,50 per kilogramme. With drip irrigation I can plan my planting, reaping and curing. "When my crop is in stress I can do something about it, that is the power of drip irrigation," she said.
Farming is a major source of livelihood. "I cannot afford to sit on my laurels. Now that I have the drip facility, I will apply for the rocket barn facility as well as for the Command Agriculture programme," she said.
ICRISAT