Zimbabwe has successfully rehabilitated the 320 ha plot which has been underutilized for a decade 10 years.
With $1.5 million having been invested, the company has challenged government to offer them an additional 10 year contract so that they can invest in modern irrigation facilities.
This pact has managed created jobs for 220 people in Chiredzi while the community are benefiting from a 2 ha irrigation plot towards their nutrition garden programs.
Mangwa Quip Investments Director Hon Denford Masiya said their plan was to invest in modern irrigation technology.
The company wanted ARDA to increase the life span of the pact with a decade.
“Since 2013 we only managed grow cane at 188ha, we were stopped by Zinwa last year from expanding due to the irrigation water challenges,” he said.
“This year we worked flat out, as of today (yesterday) we have expanded the area under sugarcane to 267ha and we hope in the next coming weeks we would have covered the 320ha which is arable at this whole estate,” said Masiya
Masiya who is house of assembly member for Chiredzi East said of the 167ha harvested so far, they have delivered over 19 000 tons of sugarcane.
“We have harvested cane at 167ha, we have delivered 19 140 tons for crushing. We are very delighted with the average yield which we are receiving per hectare. At some plots, we are reaching 220 tons per hectare making us the best sugarcane farmers in the Lowveld,” said Hon Masiya.
“Furrow irrigation is wasting water, our goal was to install modern irrigation systems such as Centre Pivots but our working time frame of 5 years was limited for us to recover from the investment.
“But if Arda agrees to extension this pact say with 10 years, we will
modernize this estate by installing centre pivots and solar systems so
that we conserve water which we think is being wasted though flood irrigation,” said Masiya.
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