Exchange Irrigation Scheme is a 165 hectare irrigated arable land in Zhombe Communal Land but in Silobela Constituency in

Kwekwe District Kwekwe District is a district in Zimbabwe. Location It is found in the Midlands Province, in the central Zimbabwe. Kwekwe, with an estimated population of about 99,200 in 2004, is the capital city of the district. The district capital is located ...

of the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

Province of

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. It is 37 km southwest of Zhombe Joel, 83 km northwest of

Kwekwe Kwekwe ( ), known until 1983 as Que Que, is a city in the Midlands province of central Zimbabwe. The city has a population of 119,863 within the city limits, as of the 2022 census, making it the 7th-largest city in Zimbabwe and the second-most p ...

and 25 km north of Crossroads DSC. It is in region 3; the climatic conditions are semi arid with an average rainfall of 632mm per annum. Estimated elevation is 1200 metres above sea level.

Background

Exchange Irrigation Scheme developed in two phases. The first phase was when in 1973 56 hectares were developed to supplement to farmers who had been resettled on 2.5 hectare dry land per household. Plot holder then had a "comma" as it is popularly known; thus a 0,1 hectare (if a person has 0,2ha he is said to have 2 commas. 1 hectare is 10 commas: ,1x10) Phase 2 was when the scheme was rehabilitated and developed to 165 hectare; that is +109 hectares. The second phase saw allocation of commas to new farmer and addition of commas to existing farmers. In 1997 there were 850 plot holders with an average of 0.2ha plots per farmer.

Water Source

It is fed by

Exchange Dam Exchange may refer to: Physics *Gas exchange is the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Places United States * Exchange, Indiana, an unincorporated community * ...

which is on Gweru River.

Gweru River Gweru River (known as Gwelo River until 1982) is a river in Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. Background The name Gweru is a further distortion of the name Gwelo which was a distortion of the name Ikwelo meaning a very steep place where one would u ...

is a tributary of

Shangani River The Shangani is a river in Zimbabwe that starts near Gweru, Gweru River being one of its main tributaries' and goes through Midlands and Matabeleland North provinces. It empties into the Gwayi River. The Shangani River was the site of the 4 D ...

. Exchange Dam is the biggest reservoir in

followed by Insukamini Dam in

Lower Gweru Lower Gwelo is a developed communal settlement in the Midlands province, Zimbabwe and is located about 40 km north-west of Gweru, and stretches a further 50 km to the west. Lower gwelo was initially called Somabhula and later became Somabh ...

. Exchange Dam, sometimes called

Exchange Block Dam Exchange may refer to: Physics * Gas exchange is the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Places United States * Exchange, Indiana, an unincorporated community ...

was built in 1972 primarily for irrigation. Its full capacity is 9 million cubic litres.

Objectives

Primary objectives of the irrigation scheme was to equip farmers with a basic source of income materially and cash. Farmers could earn at least a sum equivalent to the government gazetted minimum wage by selling sweet green grocery produced from the irrigated land.

Beneficiaries

About 900 farmers and their families who live near Exchange Irrigation Scheme are the primary beneficiaries of the scheme. Most of the surrounding farmers have dry land rain-fed fields averaging 2.5 hectares. Livestock of these farmer also benefit by foraging at the adjacent bush that is evergreen watered by spillage irrigation water.

Management

The scheme was developed by Agritex, an extensition-work department of the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

. It is managed by the scheme management committee elected by participating farmers from among their members. Maintenance is carried out by civil servants at the scheme in unison with the management committee, Agritex officers and plot holders.

Women

Women have 50% representation in the management committee yet the percentage of work by women is only 33. However 80% of workers in the irrigation scheme are women.

Irrigation

Irrigation is water is dam pumped from Exchange Block Dam into a night storage reservoir before being canal distributed into two other reservoirs further into the scheme for surface flooding of plots. Unlike

Ngondoma Irrigation Scheme Ngondoma Irrigation Scheme is located in Zhombe, Kwekwe District in Zimbabwe's Agro-Ecological Region Three. The average annual rainfall for the location is 550 mm. The scheme area is 44.4 4 hectares.Jamesm 10.1.1.196.2228.pdf Chapter 9.4.1.2A ...

on the other side of

Zhombe Zhombe (also known as Jombe) is a rural communal area in Kwekwe District, Midlands Province, Zimbabwe. It is an area of mixed Shona and Northern Ndebele People. It lies along the Mnyathi border line between Midlands and Mashonaland Provinces ...

, this scheme water is driven by electric pumps. The plots are 0.1ha each and are arranged in blocks of 20ha to 30ha each. There are 6 blocks in total covering all the 165 active arable hectares. The tertiary offtake gates are operated by hand by either the civil servants or members of the management committee. Water is shared evenly at one day per week for each block of the six blocks.F M Chancellor, Report OD136, 5 August 199
, Smallholder Irrigation: Ways Forward , Volume 2:Summary of Case Studies , 3. Case Study: pages 9-14. , 3.1 Exchange Irrigation Scheme, Zimbabwe.
books.hrwallingford.co.uk, od136v2.pdf, Retrieved 17 February 2016 The seventh day, Sunday, is reserved for night storage top-ups and for watering nursery beds in any block.

Irrigation Seasons

July–February is maize corn season. March–June is the Beans and Tomato season.

Yields

Normally yields are 7000 kg corn (sold as green maize) per hectare and more than 1000 kg/ha for beans. At the market prices of $0.43/kg for green maize and $1.50/kg for beans, the two crops have a value of $3000/ha for maize and $1500/ha for beans, giving a combined harvest value of $4500/ha per year. The values quoted above are based on the following; 700 kg per comma (per 0,1ha). Green maize is usually sold in dozens and a dozen has an average of 7 kg. With this assumption 1 comma would sell for US$300 at US$3 per dozen. 1000 kg/ha to 1200 kg/ha beans. That is 100 kg to 120 kg per comma of beans. Beans usually sell at US$1.50 per kg. (US$30/20 kg bucket).

References

{{Kwekwe District Agriculture in Zimbabwe Rural community development