Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Mkhondvo-Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Project (MNWAP) could be the solution to the country meeting vegetable commodity market demands.
Eswatini is currently failing to meet both local and external market demands for vegetables, due limited trade in the country. The World Food Programme (WFP) requested Eswatini farmers to supply 53 000 tonnes of sugar beans to the international market and the local market supplied 10 000 tonnes. This then forced WFP to procure the remaining 43 000 tonnes from outside country. The National Maize Corporation (NMC) does not have adequate supply of maize which has led to silos being dry and millers failing to supply local markets.
This has further forcers millers to outsource maize from South Africa at a levy a charge of E1 000 per metric tonne, forcing them to hike the buying price. The challenge cited by millers was that maize production had decreased due to poor irrigation and profits. The sugar industry is also facing the same predicament as it was reported by the Business Desk in November that cane growers were failing to meet market demands, challenges cited included scarcity of farming inputs and irrigation. Access to water increases the productivity of fields and farms, thus making the outcome of the produce greater. The Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (ESWADE) E3.4 billion project will improve over 100 fields and farms irrigation systems.
Scope
According to the project’s scope, ESWADE will improve the distribution system to supply water at St Philip’s, Mconcwane/Mcathuvane, Maloma and Sigwe irrigation areas, which is about 10 000ha. The fields and farms will have adequate water supply and this will help them increase productivity. ESWADE expert Engineer Enock Dlamini, said the project will improve the irrigation system of 138 farms situated in the Shiselweni Region. He said government proposed a holistic development vision for MNWAP to maximise the value that could be attained.
“During the 2014-2016 drought, the Government of Eswatini highlighted the importance of investing in bulk water as part of the mitigating measures against future expected drought occurrences with climate change,” he said. Dlamini said ESWADE was then tasked to look at ways to transfer water from the Mkhondvo River to augment the limited flows of the Ngwavuma River, which is relatively dry and non-perennial. He added that, they then commissioned a consulting firm to undertake feasibility studies and detailed designs of the MNWAP. The engineer further mentioned that government aimed to develop an integrated development master plan covering all sectors of the economy, to realise the holistic development vision. “The master plan will bring together various sectorial and regional plans to bring to fruition an integrated development programme for the MNWAP areas,” he said.
Alluded
Dlamini alluded that government was working with development partners including the African Development Bank (AFDB) to develop the Integrated Development Master Plan for MNWAP. Ncamiso Magagula, a feedlot Farmer at Mcathuvane, said the irrigation plan was a necessity to their business, as it was struggling. He said they (feedlot farmers) had a challenge of meeting the demands of the market in time, due to inadequate resources. “We have customers but we fail to supply them on time, because the cost of production causes a delay in our line of work, which affects everything,” he said. The farmer added that the bank’s unwillingness to fund them further contributed to the failure of many of their businesses. Phase one profits projected at E180 million.
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