The Kpong Irrigation Scheme project at Asutuare in the Lower Manya Krobo and Shai Osudoku districts is undergoing expansion and modernization at the cost of $34m.
This would increase irrigable land by about 3, 000 hectares to benefit over 30 communities; made up of rice and other crop farmers from the two districts.
The ceremony to mark the official start of work on modernization of the project was jointly performed by Hon. Simon Kweku Tetteh, MCE for Lower Manya and the Coordinating Director of Shai Osudoku, Mr. Paul Mac-Ofori.
The project which will be supplying water to over 4, 000 farmers is expected to be completed in 18 month, ending December 2020.
The project formed part of a World Bank support package which provided funding to the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP) to aid smallholder farmers secure reliable water access, land, finance, farm inputs and markets.
A $50 million facility was approved by the Bank in May 2018 for the rehabilitation and modernisation of three major irrigation schemes -the Kpong Left Bank (Torgome in North Tongu), Kpong Irrigation, and the Tono Irrigation schemes.
The target was to achieve a total of about 8,000 hectares of irrigable area for the three schemes.
The irrigation project would help to cut down the country’s estimated $2 billion food import bill through increased production of staple crops.
Rite News speaking to Mr. B.C Attipoe of GCAP, the rehabilitation and modernization exercise will work on existing deteriorated irrigation and drainage systems, and also install automatic control system where water to farmers are measured and paid for.
Road network in the project communities are also going to see rehabilitation.
Hon. Simon Kweku Tetteh in his key note address said, the consulting firm, Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA), should see to it that the contractor, Top International Engineering Corporation of China work in accordance with the scope of work in order to achieve value for money.
He also appealed to the contractor to respect the country’s local content policy by employing both skill and unskilled labours who would be needful for the project.
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Minister for Food and Agriculture, has said last year, the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project would be expanded to 150,000 hectares in the Northern savanna zone.
Source: Christina Ntiamoah/ritefmonline.org
