Maravi

Sinazongwe councillor calls for more irrigation schemes

Sinazongwe councillor calls for more irrigation schemes
By Tovin Ngombe in Sinazeze
Wednesday September 26, 2007 [04:00]

A SINAZONGWE councillor has urged the government to introduce more irrigation schemes in the district to help alleviate hunger. Nkandabbwe ward councillor Partson Mangunje said the district had a lot of water resources that could be used to improve food security in the drought prone district.

Mungunje said the government should ensure that canals are placed from Lake Kariba to the high lands to help people with water to irrigate their crops. He said it was unfortunate for the district to experience hunger and that there was no need for government to spend huge sums of money on relief food.

Mungunje, whose area has the Nkandabbwe Irrigation Scheme, said people in his ward had food and that if the scheme was extended to the rest of district the issue of hunger would be history.

People at Nkandabbwe Irrigation Scheme have so far harvested beans, tomatoes, and fresh maize. Mangunje said the Nkandabbwe Irrigation Scheme covered 10 hectors and 88 farmers were currently benefiting from it.

He said the scheme faced problems from September until the rainy season because the water levels recede from the Nkandabbwe dam. Mungunje said in such times water could only be pumped using a generator.

Labels: IRRIGATION, PARTSON MANGUNJE, SINAZONGWE

posted by MrK @ 10:11 AM