Maputo, Mozambique, 3 Oct – Reconstruction work on secondary and tertiary irrigation channels in Chokwé in Mozambique will begin in 2009 based on US$9.2 million funding from the Islamic Development Bank, according to a report in Mozambican newspaper Notícias.

The construction work will make it possible for irrigation to return to normal as it is currently obstructed in some sections and irrigate 7,000 hectares of land, worked by over 5,200 farmers.

According to the chairman of Hidraúlica do Chokwé, Salomão Matsule, the lack of funding means that it will not be possible as yet to recalibrate the system’s three main channels, refurbish distributors over an area of 9,000 hectares and agricultural roads or level recovered areas.

The Chokwé irrigation system covers some 34,000 hectares, of which just 22,734 are usable land, and of the usable portion, 7,000 has already been recovered. (macauhub)