GIDA backs farmers, rejects encroachment at Weija irrigation lands

The Management of the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) has declared a zero-tolerance stance on encroachment at the Weija Irrigation Scheme.

It affirmed that irrigable lands vested in the authority were strictly reserved for agriculture and must be protected in the national interest.

In a statement to back a press release by farmers at the Weija Irrigation Scheme, GIDA said it shared the farmers’ concerns and stood firmly with them in resisting the growing encroachment on irrigable lands.

It described encroachment as a serious threat to national food security, public investment and the livelihoods of farmers, who depended on the schemes for year-round production, stressing that irrigation schemes were developed with public funds to support food self-sufficiency, job creation and sustainable agriculture.

According to GIDA, the scale of encroachment at Weija had begun to significantly disrupt farming activities, limiting farmers’ access to land and water and creating avoidable tensions.

GIDA’s position

GIDA said encroachment on irrigable lands was not an isolated challenge but one that undermined national development objectives and weakened public investments made in irrigation infrastructure.

It explained that irrigation schemes were established to ensure all-year-round food production, create employment and support national food self-sufficiency.

It also warned that illegal occupation, conversion or development of irrigation lands placed long-term strain on irrigation infrastructure and threatened the sustainability of farming activities.

The authority reaffirmed its zero-tolerance policy on encroachment across all its schemes, stressing that lands vested in GIDA were not available for residential, commercial or speculative use.

It said allowing encroachment to persist would erode public investment and undermine its institutional mandate.

GIDA further assured farmers and the public of its commitment to dialogue while pursuing practical and enforceable solutions, including boundary revalidation, improved signage and documentation, and legal action where necessary to recover encroached lands.

It also pledged continued collaboration with the Lands Commission, Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies, traditional authorities and security agencies to strengthen enforcement of land-use regulations.

Concerns

At a press conference, the Weija Water Users Association (WELA) at Tuba expressed concern over what it described as persistent and renewed encroachment on the remaining irrigable lands within the Weija enclave.

The association traced the history of the Weija Dam and Irrigation Project to the 1970s, explaining that about 13,580 acres of land were compulsorily acquired by the State for the dam, its buffer zone and associated irrigation infrastructure.

Of this, more than 8,000 acres were earmarked for crop cultivation when the irrigation scheme was established in 1983 by GIDA under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

WELA said the project was intended to serve as a model for sustainable, year-round vegetable farming and efficient water resource management but that widespread encroachment over the years prevented the full realisation of this vision.

It recalled that the government was compelled to undertake a demolition exercise in 2010 that affected more than 400 houses in an attempt to reclaim irrigation lands.

Intervention

WELA said the government later released large portions of the acquired lands back to traditional authorities through Executive Instrument (E.I. 20), State Lands (Site for Irrigation Development Project I and II) (Amendment) Instrument, 2013, leaving only about 795.943 acres (322.35 hectares), about six per cent of the original land acquired for irrigation purposes and limited residential use for GIDA officials.

The association expressed concern that even the remaining land was under threat, alleging that parts of it had been irregularly granted to private developers.

WELA warned that continued encroachment undermined the government’s Feed Ghana Programme and irrigation-led job creation efforts, noting that the remaining land could support over 30,000 farmhands.

It called on the Ministries of Food and Agriculture and Lands and Natural Resources, the Lands Commission, National Security and the Presidency to intervene urgently to protect the remaining irrigation lands.