Oxfam has been working with rural communities in Gutu since 2004, enabling poor households to increase food production and earn an income through communal gardening. A year-round water supply is necessary if these families and others are to reap the maximum benefit from the land. As droughts become increasingly frequent and severe, people desperately need to reduce their dependence on rain-fed agriculture. With its year-round water reserves, the nearby Ruti Dam offers a solution.

A feasibility study, commissioned by Oxfam in 2007, has identified three sites which are suitable for a land irrigation scheme. This project will fund the irrigation of one of these sites, spanning more than two million square feet of cultivable land.

Project aims

By building an irrigation scheme to supply water year-round to a 20 hectare communal garden, and providing training in agricultural techniques, business skills and irrigation scheme maintenance, Oxfam will:

• Improve the food security of 25,000 people in Gutu and reduce their dependence on food aid
• Increase the income of 80 vulnerable families
• Provide a year-round water supply, reducing the region’s dependence on rain-fed agriculture

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