Government partners Hippo Valley on climate action
HIPPO Valley Estates Limited, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed sugar producer, has partnered with the Government to implement climate change mitigation strategies.
In its recently issued integrated report for the year ended March 31, 2024, the company noted that increased water demand, exacerbated by unplanned settlements along water canal systems, poses a risk of overuse and potential depletion of water resources.
To address this, the company is collaborating with the Government on the development of new dams in the catchment area.
The company has implemented a comprehensive approach that includes closely monitoring fuel usage across its operations, maintaining natural greenhouse gas sinks like forests and wetlands on its land, and making significant investments in energy-efficient equipment and machinery, as well as transitioning to cleaner, renewable energy sources.
Hippo Valley
According to the group, it has executed a comprehensive strategy focused on mitigating environmental impact.
This includes enhancing natural carbon sinks through large-scale tree planting, transitioning to cleaner bagasse fuel in boiler systems, and installing energy-efficient solar geysers and solar-powered irrigation systems, including centre pivot pumps.
“Hippo Valley Estates provided employees with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) stoves and cylinders to phase out the use of firewood.
Gas Cylinders
“These proactive measures not only reduce the company’s carbon footprint but also enhance its ability to withstand the impacts of climate change and maintain production and livelihoods even as the effects of global warming intensify,” reads part of the report.
Gas Stoves
To tackle the risk of uncertainties and extreme weather patterns, including excessive or reduced precipitation, drought, heat, pests, and diseases that could adversely impact business operations, the group is set to mitigate product and market diversification to reduce overall exposure to climate-related risks such as supply chain disruptions and demand fluctuations.
Hippo Valley indicated that it aims not only to mitigate its environmental impact but also to safeguard the long-term sustainability and resilience of its business in the face of climate change by taking a proactive and holistic approach.
Climate change is estimated to be costing the country significantly in terms of economic growth.
In particular, it is threatening the viability of the agriculture sector, the mainstay of the country’s economy, with adverse impacts on downstream industries and general access to water for human consumption and domestic and wild animals, which affects tourism activities.
Zimbabwe is combating the effects of climate change with the Government working with farmers to boost production by expanding access to mechanisation and irrigation, sometimes through public-private partnerships.
This commitment is a beacon of the Government’s dedication to counter the effects of climate change that have adversely affected the agrarian systems in the country through inconsistencies in seasonal weather patterns as the climate grows more erratic.
The programmes include the Climate Proofed Presidential Inputs Support Scheme, the National Enhanced Agricultural Productivity Scheme, and the construction of dams, with Marowanyati being the latest, as ways to bolster agricultural production.-chroncles
