Farmers group want Weija Irrigation Project revived

Farmers and land owners around the Weija Irrigation Project are asking the government to revive it.

The Nii Arde Nkpa family of Tuba, Kokorbite, Langma, Tackieman and its environs, who are the stool land owners, say the project with a huge potential for agriculture, has been abandoned and thus yielding very little.

Farmers in the area cultivate vegetables such as tomatoes, pepper, garden eggs and cabbage in addition to cattle rearing.

The concerns were expressed when the farmers presented some of their produce to the landowners in homage.

Speaking on behalf of the family members, the head of the Nii Arde Nkpa Stool, Mr. Daniel Nii Arde Tagoe, implored the government to come to the aid of the farmers by injecting more capital into the project, saying that if the government show more interest in the project, it could develop into a big food market to serve the Greater Accra Region.

He also called on the government to extend its agenda of Planting for Food and Jobs to the people in the area especially the youth.

He further appealed to the government to ensure that compensations were paid to the land owners for leasing the large acres of land for the irrigation project.

Rehabilitation works began on the Weija Irrigation Scheme which was destroyed by the June 3, 2015, torrential rains, however it has since been abandoned.

The Co-operative farmers led by their Chairman, Shaibu Agbo, also complained about obsolete pumping machines at the project site which he said were negatively affecting farming activities with attendant high electricity bills to the farmers.

The Chairman called on the government to give the farmers a special dispensation in power supply.

The Weija Irrigation Scheme supplies water to farmers in the Greater Accra Region to produce vegetables to feed Accra and parts of the Central Region.