The Eastern Cape government is spearheading a multi-million Rand project to revitalise irrigation schemes in the province.

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture, the schemes are expected to be run and managed by farmers as well as communities themselves.

The Eastern Cape Irrigation Schemes are in Tyefu, Keiskamahoek, Zanyokwe, Qamata, Ncora as well as Shiloh.

Spokesperson for the agriculture department Yam Yankee said a number of job opportunities were expected to be created during the revival process to be run in phases.

"This department has set aside R30 million for the current financial year. Nevertheless more money is required in the medium term period to meet financial implications for the revival process," said Mr Yankee.

"We are going to organise a donor conference and invite service providers, including the European Union (EU), the Sweden International Development Agency (Sida) and others, to provide us with funds to make this a success."

According to him, the process could be significant for the Provincial Growth and Development Programme (PGDP).

Through this programme, the government seeks to stimulate economic growth in rural communities by strengthening household food security and creating conditions for the emergence of small-scale farming.

According to the provincial government's strategy to revitalise the schemes, all role players should allocate sufficient funding to achieve the objectives within agreed timeframes.

In addition, intervention strategies should be revised from time to time if the desired impact was not realised.

According to Mr Yankee, the present state of the schemes was stalled by low water reliability due to lack of proper operation and maintenance.

Furthermore, there is low profitability and low annual income due to small plot sizes as well as inability to finance input costs in advance.

"Presently there is lack of motivation for high risk farming ventures, [especially] when the major portion of income is from social grants," he said.

He added that high levels of poverty left little energy and motivation for intensive farming, emphasising that fund allocation should be increased if progress in this regard was lagging behind.