Boost for rice production
The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of Crops, Dr Alhassan Yakubu, has said government is working to ensure that local production of rice meets 100 per cent of consumption by 2018.
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Currently, local production has risen to 53 per cent of consumption, from 30 per cent in 2009.
In an interview with the GRAPHIC BUSINESS, he said government’s efforts to reduce rice imports were yielding results.
An estimated US$500 million is spent on the importation of rice annually. Imports went up to 330,000 tonnes in 2011/ 2012, and 320,000 tonnes in 2010 / 2011.
The programmes
He said the plan was basically to rehabilitate existing irrigation facilities, develop many other small dams at the community level and also seek external funding.
“The overall approach is to advocate more investment in irrigation infrastructure to supplement rain-fed agriculture that we have been relying on as of now. Basically, the idea is to try to grow the irrigation dimension of our agriculture to try to catch up with the rain-fed dimension because when your irrigated agriculture advances, your environmental protection is also effective because you commit less land and higher productivity,” he said.
Dr Alhassan said a lot of investments were being put into irrigation infrastructure development, largely through public investment and partnership with the private sector.
Irrigation facilities
He cited the Pwalugu multi-purpose irrigation facility “for which studies are currently over and funding is being sought to bring in up to 20,000 hectares of developed land under irrigation and hydro electricity generated by it.”
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Again, under the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP), he said efforts were being made to do a total rehabilitation of the Tono and Vea irrigation facilities in the Upper East Region.
Tono is the biggest irrigation facility in Ghana with a potential of over 3000 hectares, while Vea which is now inoperative is expected bring in 850 hectares after the rehabilitation.
He disclosed that discussions were underway with Brazilian investors to deliver the Nasia-Nobogu valleys to develop an irrigation facility and that may cumulatively bring in another 10,000 hectares of land under irrigation.
2016 budget on rice production
To boost local rice production, 77 SAME tractors, 49 power tillers, 20 rice threshers, 11 rice reapers and six rice mills with their respective components were assembled and sold to farmers in 2015.
In addition, 100 units Cabrio tractors with multi components were assembled for sale to farmers on hire purchase.
The ministry led the establishment of Irrigation Technology Transfer Units (ITTU) at two agricultural colleges and in one community. The ITTUs are demonstration models to showcase latest irrigation technology using ground and surface water resources.
The ministry also provided technical support for WIENCO and SADA to deliver the initial 400 hectares Sissili Kulpawn Irrigation Project in the West Mamprusi District with cowpea being grown on 50 hectares of the project’s land as test crop. — GB