Zimbabwean farmer recommends Zimmatic pivots with aluminium pipes for enhanced cultivation

Zimmatic centre pivot systems are being hailed for successful cultivation around fertile lands in Zimbabwe. The process can be achieved quite easily by laying out aluminium pipelines in order to streamline water to the respective cultivable lands.

A second-generation farmer, Tobias Musariri from Chegutu, a province situated 100 kilometres southwest of Harare, acknowledges the role of Zimmatic centre pivots in making his farmland more productive. The aluminium pipeline laid around his fields in the maze farm of Kwamasita allows continuous, yet regulated water flows into the 400 hectares of the commercial valley.

"This is a second-generation farm. It was founded by my late father, Tobias Musariri, senior, in 1979, after retiring from the motoring industry. I continued with the farm when he passed away in 2012," Musariri pointed out in his statement.

The farmer also added that when he originally purchased the farm, there was no probability of systematic water flow into the land. The piece of farmland housed just an asbestos building, and Musariri claims to have planned the later inclusions. Cleaning the land for farming purposes took almost two long years or more.

He went on to illustrate the entire plan: "We sunk some boreholes and started using a system with aluminium pipes for irrigation. Initially, we put 20 hectares under irrigation."

Since these aluminium pipelines are not permanently stuck to one place, they can be moved according to the need of a particular crop in a specific part of the field.

Musariri glistened with pride, saying: "We must have done that for about 25 years."

"As we expanded our fields, we relied on this form of irrigation because that was what we could afford at the time. But if you do not attach the rubbers correctly, it will not irrigate properly. We would get in trouble for over-irrigating certain areas and wasting electricity and water," he added.

Today, the farm houses at least 12 pivots that are spread across the enormous 500 hectares of irrigation land.

"We have started changing our control panels to the 700 series. A part of this process is setting them up on FieldNET to ensure all our pivots can be remotely controlled and monitored," says Musariri.

In keeping up with today's evolving technologies, the pivots have been connected with a central farming system so that the entire aluminium pipeline layout can be controlled internally according to a farmer's desire.

Musariri's farm operates with water from boreholes and the Mfure dam.

"I would recommend Zimmatic pivots to other farmers because it is more than just a product; you also receive guidance on the various opportunities you could be maximising on your farm. You are also advised how to best use the Zimmatic equipment, which is a plus. With advancements in technology, I think as a farmer, you want to try and stay on top of new trends that will really be efficient and allow you to scale up," Musariri concluded on a positive note.

Aluminium pipelines are the best option for such systems as they are anti-corrosive and can last for a longer amount of time. Also, aluminium doesn't have any distinct taste or odour than can contaminate the water flowing inside. Its lightweight property is also vital since it becomes a favourable choice for raw material in the pipe-making process.