Professional Summary
Eng. Willard Chirenje is a Zimbabwean professional irrigation engineer and agricultural water infrastructure specialist with more than 10 years of progressive experience in irrigation engineering, water resources engineering, water supply and sanitation, construction supervision and large-scale water reticulation. His career demonstrates strong practical achievement across southern Africa, including Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Mozambique and South Africa. He has worked on climate-resilient water supply and irrigation infrastructure for refugee settlements, water harvesting and small-to-medium dam projects, estate-scale irrigation operations, centre pivots, drip irrigation, sprinkler systems, canals, pipelines, pumping systems and drainage networks. His work at UNHCR Tongogara Refugee Settlement helped expand cultivated land from 25 ha to 175 ha, deploy solarized drip irrigation systems and construct more than 15 km of bulk water conveyance channels. In Eswatini, he contributed to water harvesting infrastructure that supported irrigation-water supply over 1,200 ha and improved livelihoods for more than 3,000 households. At GreenFuel Zimbabwe, he provided senior technical leadership across a large 12,000 ha estate, improving water availability above 90%, reducing losses below 10% and contributing to sugarcane yield improvement from 78 t/ha to 133 t/ha. His profile brings powerful field-based engineering value to AquaLinked / Water for Africa Experts because he combines professional engineering registration, practical irrigation design, water infrastructure management, construction supervision, climate-resilient agriculture and measurable project impact.
Key Expertise
Major Projects and Contributions
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UNHCR Tongogara Refugee Settlement – Irrigation Engineer
Provided comprehensive technical services for design, supervision, construction and modernization of water conveyance and irrigation infrastructure at Tongogara Refugee Settlement in Zimbabwe, strengthening water security, food security and climate-resilient agricultural production. -
Expansion of Cultivated Land and Solarized Drip Irrigation – Tongogara
Supported the expansion of cultivated land from 25 ha to 175 ha, deployment of solarized drip irrigation systems and construction of more than 15 km of bulk water conveyance channels, helping refugee and host communities improve agricultural production and long-term self-reliance. -
Capacity Building for Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Delivered targeted capacity building for refugees and asylum seekers at Tongogara Refugee Settlement by equipping communities with practical irrigation, water management and agricultural production skills that enhanced resilience, livelihoods and self-reliance. -
GIBB Engineering Consultants – Resident Engineer, Eswatini Water Harvesting Project
Provided design and supervision services for construction of water harvesting infrastructure, including small and medium dams, weirs, pipeline conveyance and irrigation systems under the Water Harvesting, Small and Medium Dams Project in Hhohho, Manzini and Shiselweni regions of Eswatini. -
Irrigation-Water Supply for 1,200 ha and 3,000 Households in Eswatini
Contributed to a European Union-funded project implemented under civil engineering standards that enabled irrigation-water supply to over 1,200 ha, improved water security and supported sustainable food production and livelihoods for more than 3,000 households. -
African Development Bank-Funded ISV-COM Project – UNHCR Zimbabwe
Provided technical support in design and implementation of climate-resilient water supply and irrigation infrastructure under the African Development Bank-funded ISV-COM project with UNHCR Zimbabwe, supporting sustainable agriculture-based livelihoods and drought resilience for refugee and host communities. -
Climate-Resilient Water Supply and Irrigation Rehabilitation
Supported the design, rehabilitation and supervision of climate-resilient water supply and irrigation infrastructure, integrating water conservation, climate-smart water management and community operation-and-maintenance capacity building. -
GreenFuel Zimbabwe – Estate-Scale Water Reticulation Management
Provided senior technical leadership in water reticulation and irrigation infrastructure management across a large GreenFuel estate, overseeing multi-source water systems including dams, rivers, canals, pipelines and pumping systems to ensure reliable and efficient water supply for production and smallholder users. -
Water Availability, Water Loss Reduction and Sugarcane Yield Improvement
Achieved more than 90% water availability, reduced water losses below 10% through water recycling and infield water management, and contributed to sugarcane yield improvement from an average of 78 t/ha to 133 t/ha through effective bulk water distribution, water budgeting, metering and irrigation performance evaluation. -
Large-Scale Pressurized Irrigation Systems – Centre Pivots, Sprinklers and Drip
Designed and managed estate-scale pressurized irrigation systems including 40 × 45 ha centre pivots, 1,800 ha of portable sprinkler irrigation and 160 ha of drip irrigation integrated with raw-water reticulation networks of rivers, dams, canals, pipelines and pumping systems. -
Irrigation Scheduling, Pump Appraisal and Fertigation Management
Directed estate-wide irrigation scheduling using advanced planning tools and software, optimizing crop water requirements, water-use efficiency and system performance, while overseeing pump, centre pivot, sprinkler, drip irrigation and fertigation system appraisal and maintenance. -
Water Abstraction, Conveyance and Environmental Compliance
Managed irrigation water abstraction, conveyance and distribution, including abstraction rates and drainage flows, ensuring compliance with legislative, environmental and water-use permit requirements while optimizing canal, pipeline and pumping infrastructure efficiency. -
Irrigation Extension, Advisory Support and SHEQ Compliance
Provided irrigation extension and advisory services to farms and operational areas, promoting best irrigation practices, system optimization and continuous performance improvement while ensuring Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality standards across irrigation operations and projects.