The Problem
The region around Chisumbanje Estate faces erratic rainfall, severe drought, and is classified as agricultural region five. This leads to food insecurity, unreliable crop production, and high unemployment rates, making it tough for communities to sustain themselves.
Our Solution
Green Fuel's community irrigation schemes provide a comprehensive solution by offering technical support, inputs like seeds and fertilizers, land preparation, and a year-round water and power supply. This enables small-scale farmers to cultivate multiple cash crops annually, ensuring food security, economic empowerment, and a reliable source of income.
Green Fuel Irrigation Schemes
Our community irrigation schemes are the cornerstone of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) portfolio, significantly impacting the communities that surround the Chisumbanje Estate. This area typically receives erratic rainfall and falls under agricultural region five, an area prone to severe drought. Recognizing the critical need for consistent water supply in these regions, at the commencement of the project we committed to developing 10% of all land under sugarcane for community use, in the form of irrigated plots for small-scale farmers. This initiative was aimed at addressing food insecurity and providing a reliable means for families to cultivate crops year-round, moving away from a sole reliance on unpredictable rain-fed agriculture.
The benefits to the community from our irrigation schemes have proven to be multi-faceted and far-reaching, enabling consistent crop production and multiple cash crops per year. The schemes create substantial economic empowerment providing farmers with consistent food to feed their families as well as access to a reliable source of income from selling excess produce – a significant benefit in an area where unemployment rates are significantly high.
The agricultural team also provides a robust support system to the farmers, ensuring consistent agricultural productivity and improved livelihoods.
Key aspects of Green Fuel's support include:
Technical support from Section Managers
Green Fuel employs a dedicated team of section managers and agricultural experts who provide hands-on technical guidance to farmers. This support encompasses various aspects of crop management, from planting techniques and pest control to fertilizer application and harvesting strategies, helping farmers optimize their yields and adopt best practices in irrigated farming.
Land preparation and maintenance
recognizing that proper land preparation and maintenance is fundamental to successful farming, Green Fuel provides consistent support in this area, offering heavy machinery and expertise for tasks such as land leveling, tilling, and preparing fields for irrigation. This assistance ensures that farmers have well-prepared land, optimizing water distribution and crop growth.
Year-round water and power supply
an essential part of Green Fuel's support is the consistent and reliable supply of water and power to the irrigation schemes. We have invested significantly in developing extensive irrigation infrastructure and the company bears the cost of pumping water year-round, enabling farmers to cultivate multiple cash crops annually. The introduction of drip irrigation technology to all newly developed irrigation plots has allowed farmers to significantly increase yields
Through these comprehensive support mechanisms, Green Fuel aims to create a sustainable and thriving agricultural ecosystem within our neighbouring communities, fostering food security, economic empowerment and long-term, positive development.
More of our CSR
Interested This project is one of many in our Corporate Social Responsibility to both our environment and our community. You can also get involved in our projects by contacting us >
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