Vaal Barrage dam in South Africa. Image credit blogspot.com
ZIMSEC O Level Geography Notes:Agriculture:Farming types in Africa:The Main Irrigation Schemes of Africa and Zimbabwe
- Almost every country in Africa has irrigation schemes of different sizes, most of them too small to note but the big ones are few due to the absence of rivers from which to draw water from.
- They are also few because of the large expenses involved in installing irrigation facilities.
- Commercial farmers have established their own small-scale irrigation schemes because they have the capital to do so.
- For most peasant farmers in Africa, the irrigation facilities they use are built for them by governments and they are leased small plots on which to farm in the scheme.
- Bigger irrigation projects are the domain of governments or Transnational Corporations which have sufficient funding for the projects.
| Country | Schemes |
|---|---|
| Zimbabwe | SE Lowveld, Central watershed and northern schemes. |
| Zambia | Kafue, Mulungushi, Gwembe |
| Kenya | The Seven Forks project,galana-Athi schemes |
| South Africa | Vaal Barrage, P.K Leroux, H-Verwoed, Torquay, Tugela. |
| Malawi | The Shire Valley scheme |
| The Sudan | The Gezira scheme, the Manaquil scheme, the Gumuiya scheme |
| Egypt | The High Aswan scheme, the Lower Nile project |
| Nigeria | Kainji scheme, Middle Niger delta scheme, sharing Orner scheme with Chad |
| Mali | The Selingwe scheme |
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