QOMINTABA, Lavumisa (1 March 2025): Something amaizing is emerging from Lavumisa. This land of perennial drought and food insecurity is transforming into the kingdom’s bread basket. Even before the region starts benefitting from irrigation water in 2027, some farmers are already demonstrating what is possible.
In agricultural communities, rain is always a good omen. Indeed, the rains that fell, consistently, nationwide did not impose misery on everyone. In Lavumisa where they were happily welcomed and put to good use, the rains have produced heart-warming results.
For instance, if anyone had told Mjikijelwa Ginindza in 2024 that his biggest problem would be how to build a crib large enough to store all his maize, he would have suspected the effects of the in-season beverage. Yet, as he views the tall stalks under the burden of large mealie-bearing cobs in a sea of gold-tasselled plants stretching as far as the eye can see, the question “just how large his crib should be” is no longer an idle worry.
Ginindza is one of 84 former hand-to-mouth subsistence farmers who are now knocking on the doors for admission into the elite club of commercial maize farmers. He, along with neighbours in a new community just west of the Lavumisa capital of Qomintaba, are the first to taste the fruit of development. They were relocated to Thezane, Makhava, Lulakeni, and KaMngayi where the government company EWADE (Eswatini Water and Agriculture Development Enterprise) built them new houses in fenced smallholdings with portable water – a somewhat luxury in drought prone Lavumisa. They had to be moved from their former homes to make way for the Multi Billion Emalangeni Mpakeni Dam now under construction in the eastern foothills of the Logolweni Mountains.
More importantly, the agency allocated over E6.4 million to prepare 60.75 hectares for maize cultivation. The support also included farm inputs such as basal fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, top-dressing fertilizers, and tractor services worth more than E500,000 to for 84 households in what EWADE Corporate Communications Manager, Nokwazi Hlophe says is aligned with their mission to transform lives through sustainable agriculture. “Our agricultural restoration plan is more than just land allocation—it ensures that resettled families are equipped with modern farming inputs and best agricultural practices to secure their future.”
The support is aimed at ensuring the farmers achieve agricultural independence, contribute to national food security, and reduce the country’s dependence on imports.
In their first year at their new homes, each of these farmers are most likely on the way to deliver at least 10 tonnes of maize to the national grain bank.
Fortune often smiles on those that make the effort. The first year at their new settlement, the rains poured down, leaving little chance for the spoiling sun. Time moves quickly, and it is already a year. This past week, Ginindza looked admiringly at his field of maize stalks, each carrying sizeable mealie cobs: “I am overjoyed with my maize crop—it looks like I will achieve my highest yield ever. I am now preparing to construct a suitably large maize crib to dry the maize before shelling,” said.
Ginindza is not the only happy farmer.
Elizabeth Dlamini who has also resettled at Thezane also delighted at her transformation: “Before I came here, I always had a poor harvest as we never applied fertilizer”. Now viewing the sea of green maize stretching a green carpet before her eyes, she declared: “This year, I will harvest my highest yield ever. I now understand how applying fertilizers can significantly increase maize production. I am grateful to EWADE for equipping us with this knowledge. Now we have enough maize to eat and will sell the surplus to sustain my farming activities,” says confesses Dlamini.
The maize crop from this new Lavumisa community is high quality. Each plant displays strong maize bearing capacity, making the new farmers the envy of their neighbours who will only experience their own benefits in two years: “The relocation here has turned us into commercial maize producers. I have never seen such beautiful, fully grown maize before, and I am confident it will yield more than I have ever harvested. We really appreciate EWADE’s technical assistance that has helped us produce so much maize”, she said.
The Lavumisa farmers’ harvest is likely to be significant and exceed the national average yield. EWADE farm extension people are anticipating at least three tonnes per hectare, which is far in excess of an average family’s consumption needs. Ginindza is already thinking about a future in the elite club of commercial maize farmers: “My main focus now is building the crib. I plan to sell our surplus to the National Maize Corporation (NMC) and invest the money in farm inputs for the next planting season,” he said.
Good news travel fast. No less than NMC CEO, Mavela Vilane drove down to Thezane a few weeks ago to see for himself. New maize farmers are gold in a country that has been on a downward spiral in its attempts to meet the annual national food security target of 140 thousand tonnes. Imports, often bought with scarce foreign exchange have been one of the country’s drawbacks. No wonder Vilane assured the farmers they have a ready market at NMC.
Self-sufficiency in the national staple crop has been a mirage for generations. As the cost of farm inputs escalate, farming has moved beyond the reach of the majority. Maize is a weather-sensitive crop. Climate change that has brought progressively higher temperatures that often scorch the crop before it reaches the tasselling stage, when it is too late for farmers to replant. It has also not helped that the Kingdom’s most fertile land is found in the rain-shadow of the Lubombo Lowveld that is prone to drought.
Previous governments pursued development models that prioritized commercial sugar cane for irrigation. About 25 years ago, government built a special dam at Lubovane in the Mhlathuzane valley south of Siphofaneni. Its canal brought water that targeted mixed cropping that allowed farmers to allocate land not used for sugar to crops – mostly fruit and vegetables in the and Siphofaneni and Nsoko areas. Farmers benefitting from the Komati Downstream Development Project (KDDP) tapped into the Maguga Dam to cultivate both sugar and crops in the Sihhoye area in Hhohho.
The tide for national food security is now turning; and so is the development landscape. EWADE has gradually broadened its scope from water and irrigation infrastructure to also focus on communities outside the irrigation infrastructure. Recognizing that effective planning and resource allocation are crucial for success, the agency focuses in the conditions that often militate against effective food productivity and defevlopment effectiveness. By fostering Community Development Planning, the agency has introduced inclusive planning in chiefdoms, enhancing governance, and empowering communities through strategic initiatives in development planning, gender mainstreaming, business group formation, conflict resolution, land acquisition, and stakeholder management. These initiatives make it possible for these communities effective when they join the food security drive.
In the Lavumisa area for instance, EWADE continues to engage with the resettled households to equip them with essential skills and attitudes for becoming successful commercial farmers. This ensures that displaced families not merely recover, but flourish in their new environment.
The visible impact of the initiative has not gone unnoticed by the Chief of Lavumisa. Prince Gasawangwane appreciates the landmark transformation brought by the emerging water infrastructure and allied developments. “We are truly grateful for the remarkable work done by EWADE in ensuring that resettled families do not only just recover but also prosper.”
The success demonstrated at the resettled community is only a small example of what is yet to come. Completion of the Mpakeni dam in 2027 will bring irrigation water to maize and bean projects on 18,000 ha of land stretching from Sigwe all the way to Maloma and Sithobela.
Jm/today/1.3.2025
