by Hastings Chikoko

As the climate change phenomenon slowly sets in, Kefasi Banda (not real name) of Dzimphutsi in the lower Shire valley does not understand the increasingly contradicting realities in his village. During the rain season the area receives lots of water through the frequent flash floods from the nearby Mkuzi stream. Because of the flatness of the area, the floodwater spreads into villages and gardens damaging crops and property. Banda always flees the sea of “problem waters” for safer ground hoping to use the floodwater when it recedes.

However, upon his return during the dry season, he finds Dzimphutsi with very little water and he has to cope with high extremes of drought.

The Dzimphutsi case is one among many examples of water scarcity amidst plenty, and is perhaps a sobering glimpse into future climate change impacts in the Zambezi basin.

Several areas in the basin have experienced repeated flooding in the recent past but despite the potential of floodwater to bolster agricultural production and improve food security little has been done to harness these “problem waters.”

The majority of farmers in the basin rely solely on rain-fed agriculture, a potentially disastrous situation given that rainfall patterns have become highly unpredictable in the last few years.

For instance, the shift in the onset of the rain season and long dry spells that were experienced during the 2004/2005 rain season resulted in a food deficit in Zambia as production fell from 1.2 million metric tonnes in 2004 to 866,000 tonnes in 2005.

During the same 2004/2005 rain season, Malawi saw rains failing during the critical period from late January to end of February when the maize crop was pollinating and forming cobs leading to a fall in maize production from 1.7 million tonnes in 2004 to 1.3 million tonnes in 2005.

This was only 38 percent of the 3.4 million tonnes of maize required to feed Malawi's population of 11.9 million people.

Zimbabwe recorded a deficit of 1.3 million tonnes after registering total staple cereal production of 618,000 tonnes for the 2004/2005 season.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) agricultural production in many African countries and regions is projected to be severely compromised by climate variability and change.

The IPCC warns that in some countries, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 percent by 2020.

Meanwhile, the World Water Council has predicted that “by 2025, half the world's population will be living in areas that are at risk from storms and other weather extremes,” and has called for countries to develop coping strategies to mitigate the impacts of floods and other climate change related problems.

In a timely move the Government of Malawi and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Water Sector Programme have signed an agreement towards harnessing floodwater to improve people's livelihood in the Dzimphutsi area.

The agreement aims to facilitate activities such as irrigation, fish farming, livestock production and flood control. The initiative will, through the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development (MIWD), carry out a feasibility study on the use of floodwater for dry-land agricultural production and increased food security.

Through support from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the SADC Water Division has initiated five projects to demonstrate that water – including “problem water” – can be managed and developed in a manner that maximises people's economic and social welfare without compromising the environment.

Four of these demonstration projects are in the Zambezi basin with one each in Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia.

“The Dzimphutsi project -, which is benefiting a population of approximately 6,000 people -, primarily focuses on improving people's livelihoods through the integrated use of floodwater for crop production, animal husbandry, domestic use and environmental protection,” says Sidney Mainala, the Director of Water Resources in the MIWD.

According to Mainala, the project recognises that Dzimphutsi is ideal for farming due to the presence of alluvial soils of the Shire valley.

The area has a diverse agricultural base which includes livestock and such crops as rain-fed maize, groundnuts, fruits and irrigated vegetables. Some communities had established fish ponds but they had to discontinue due to a lack of reliable water supply.

Developments envisaged for Dzimphutsi include a small-scale dam for harvesting floodwater, an irrigation system, fish ponds, animal watering systems, domestic water supply; reforestation programmes managed by communities and an active management structure at local level.

“But these will be confirmed during the feasibility phase,” emphasised Mainala.

SADC/DANIDA Regional Advisor, Ole Houmøller pointed out that dam projects are usually huge and demand a lot of resources.

“While large dams are useful, this project seeks to challenge developing countries and demonstrate that using appropriate water management approaches, even small dams can go a long way in uplifting people's well-being,” he said. 

Download PDF