Bugwema Irrigation Project

The project is located along the Bugwema River (a tributary of the Mara River) in Eastern Tanzania. The project is envisaged to provide water to irrigate 2030 hectares and provide food for about 4,040 people (paddy rice and likely to include pulses and vegetables for local markets including).The scheme area falls within Mara Region, which has one of the worst food poverty in Tanzania with 47% of households living below the poverty line (URT, 2003). Main crops grown in the area consist of cereals; maize, sorghum, potatoes, rice and cassava and groundnuts and mainly produced on subsistence basis under rain-fed. About 51% of households sell immediately after harvesting which threatens the food security of the area.

The project is located along the Bugwema River (a tributary of the Mara River) in Eastern Tanzania. The project is envisaged to provide water to irrigate 2030 hectares and provide food for about 4,040 people (paddy rice and likely to include pulses and vegetables for local markets including).The scheme area falls within Mara Region, which has one of the worst food poverty in Tanzania with 47% of households living below the poverty line (URT, 2003). Main crops grown in the area consist of cereals; maize, sorghum, potatoes, rice and cassava and groundnuts and mainly produced on subsistence basis under rain-fed. About 51% of households sell immediately after harvesting which threatens the food security of the area.