The article examines some of the social consequences of government intervention to develop an area through the introduction of irrigated agriculture. The scheme in question was started in the late 1950s, and was largely populated by immigrant farmers from other areas in Zimbabwe. The article looks at social dynamics between irrigators and dry-land farmers, between locals and newcomers, and between farmers and government agencies. These ideas are expressed in issues of leadership, in religious beliefs and practices, and adaptations of the technology. Farmers have not simply passively accepted ideas and structures imposed upon them, but have adapted the technology and the structures to suit their various purposes, and their relations with those about them.
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