Mwenezi West – The 156-hectare Pikinini-Jawanda Irrigation Scheme, completed in 2024, is now directly sustaining the livelihoods of more than 300 families in one of Zimbabwe’s driest districts. Drawing water from Manyuchi Dam a resource completed in 1989 but left largely untapped for over three decades the scheme has become a beacon of agricultural hope in Mwenezi West under Chief Mawarire.
Beneficiaries of the scheme primarily grow maize and sugar beans for commercial sale, a venture that has significantly improved their incomes and living standards. In a region that frequently receives below-average annual rainfall, the irrigation scheme is helping to build climate resilience and promote food security.
Funded by the Green Climate Fund, the project is part of the broader Building Climate Resilience of Vulnerable Agricultural Livelihoods in Southern Zimbabwe programme. The initiative is spearheaded by UNDP Zimbabwe, in close partnership with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development.
The success of Pikinini-Jawanda highlights the critical role of strategic investment in underutilized natural resources and climate-smart agriculture. For the 300 families involved, the scheme is more than an infrastructure project it is a pathway to dignity, stability, and sustainable development.
As Zimbabwe continues to tackle the dual challenges of climate change and rural poverty, the Pikinini-Jawanda model serves as a promising blueprint for other vulnerable communities across the country.
