Govt to begin development of 192 'small dams' in 2018

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says a total 320 small dams and dug-outs in 64 districts in northern Ghana have been identified for development as part of the government’s One-District-One-Dam project.

Out of the number, 192 of them would be evaluated for development in 2018 in the selected areas.

President Akufo-Addo said this at the 2017 National Farmers Day celebration in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

He said a water transmission project to distribute water from River Oti, the Black and White Volta to communities for productive cultivations will also begin in 2018.

That, he said, will bring up to 90,000 hectares of farmlands under irrigation.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo also expressed worry over the declining state of the Ghanaian agriculture sector and promises to reverse the trend.

He said for the past decade, the contribution of the agriculture sector has declined from a high of 42 per cent to a low of 18.5 in 2016.

That, he said, was worrying since the sector is one of the key areas contributing enormously to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The celebration is on the theme: “Farming for food and jobs”.

President Akufo-Addo said it was in line with government’s vision to transform and modernise agriculture in the country to create wealth and jobs.

He explained that low productivity, low application of technology, insufficient agro-financing, and land tenure issues among others all contribute to the declining state of the country’s agriculture sector.

“We can and we should overcome these problems if we keep our focus and ensure effective implementation of policies and programmes”, he said.

That, President Akufo-Addo said, the government was determined to reverse the trend by implementing its agriculture programmes and policies such as the One-Village-One-Dam and One-district-One-Factory.