200 dams in the Upper East region

Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), on Thursday said 30 dams and dugouts located in various areas in the three northern regions have been earmarked for rehabilitation.

The World Bank is funding the rehabilitation works under Ghana Social Opportunity Project through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is a collaborator.

Mr Ahwoi who had appeared before Parliament to answer questions said the lifespan of a small earth dam was usually between thirty and forty years.

He said rehabilitation of earth dams and dredging of the reservoirs have been a continuous activity adding that over 44 dams have rehabilitated in the Upper East region under the Lands Conservation and Small Holder Rehabilitation Project (LACOSREP 1) between 1992 to 1997.

Since 2008, about 39 dams destroyed by the 2007/2008 floods in the Upper East region are under rehabilitation and 24 have since been completed.

He said the Northern Rural Growth Programme funded by the African Development Bank and the International Fund for Agriculture, being implemented by the MOFA has 65 per cent of its budget supporting irrigated agriculture.

Under the programme, more dams in the Upper East Region will be rehabilitated or built.

He said a consultant has been hired to identify possible areas for new dam construction and old dams for rehabilitation.

Source: GNA