Irrigation project launched in Bulawayo's Ward 13

Written by Lewis Jones - ZDDT Field Correspondent Thursday, 25 August 2011 15:33

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe – An exiting new phase in ZDDT’s Local Authority Capacity Building Programme (LACBP) took off recently in Cllr. Lot Siziba’s Ward Thirteen.

Above: Ricky Forster (centre), with members of Ward13 CAT's stand by installed tank.

This initiative entails the setting-up of communal gardens measuring one hundred square metres each, complete with a drip irrigation system including provision of tank, piping, fertiliser and seed. A part of the Trust’s contribution toward the City of Bulawayo’s Urban Agricultural Programme, the Project will eventually see irrigation systems installed at a site in each of the City’s twenty nine Wards.

Setting-up the gardens is aimed at providing technology that will assist in enabling local communities to eventually attain self-sufficiency in nutrient production.

The drip irrigation concept was selected, because it  represents an efficient water management system, in a City where scarce water resources make this a precious commodity.

On arrival at the launch site, this writer found Mr. Ricky Forster, Representing Cotehill Agencies, the company responsible for installation, busy supervising activities. ZDDT’s Bulawayo Provincial Development Officer, Bruce Mtengwa’s presence was to ensure that the Trust’s role in the exercise was fulfilled, while Field Correspondent Lewis Jones attendance guaranteed media coverage for the event.




Above: A Cotehill Agencies employee sets up drip irrigation lines

The whole exercise, which involved tilling the land, preparing beds and setting up irrigation lines, took just thirty minutes and it is expected that application of fertiliser and planting will take the same amount of time.

On completion, it is intended that the projects will be handed over to the City of Bulawayo, who in turn will present these to communities in the relevant Wards. With this project, which is just one of several in its community restoration interventions, the Trust aims to make a substantial contribution in assisting with restoring improved service delivery systems.

Our partners, with assistance from the German Government are the LACBP’s funders.