Kpong Irrigation scheme rehabilitation Phase 2 project takes off

The second phase of the project to refurbish the Kpong Irrigation Scheme (KIS) has begun, three years after the first phase of the works was completed. 

The second phase aims to offer access to irrigation water to smallholder farmers, private commercial farmers and other stakeholders.

The works include rehabilitation of irrigation and drainage infrastructure, installation of instrumentation and automation equipment for enhanced water delivery and management as well as rehabilitation of road networks in areas around Akuse and Asutsuare in the Eastern and Greater Accra regions, respectively. 

It is part of the $22.6 million West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP), a World Bank-funded initiative, with technical supervision from the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA). 

The first phase was completed under the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP) between 2017 and 2021, covering 4000 hectares. 

The project is expected to ensure full operationalisation with improved water use efficiency for the remaining 931 hectares of farming area, increasing crop production and food security.

Sod-cutting 

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony last Thursday at Akuse, on behalf of the Sector Minister, Bryan Acheampong, the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) in charge of Crops, Yaw Frimpong Addo, said the project demonstrated the government’s commitment to building the resilience of food production and delivery systems across the country.

He said in addition to physical infrastructural developments, the government was facilitating enhanced value chain activities under the Planting for Food and Jobs( PFJ 2.0 ) using the input credit system linked to aggregator, anchor farmer - smallholder arrangement for technology dissemination and market access. 

Collaboration 

The Senior Agriculture Economist of the World Bank Ghana and Task Team Leader of FSRP, Dr  Ashwini Sebastian, on behalf of the World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, Robert Taliercio, said irrigation was just one phase of the agricultural value chain.

She underscored the importance of irrigation but indicated that in Ghana only three per cent of cultivated land was under irrigation

She said under FSRP, the World Bank would be supporting other value chain interventions, including the use of climate-smart seeds, adoption of innovative agricultural practices and marketing integration, among other interventions.

In his welcoming address, the acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA), Richard Oppong Boateng, said as was the experience in recent times, Ghana and the rest of the world were being impacted greatly by climate change. 

He said while river systems had been affected with unexpected drought, excessive floods had also destroyed farmlands and other livelihoods of farmers.

Mr Boateng said these shocks called for the need to build resilience to mitigate the shocks relating to water resource used for agriculture, livestock watering and aquaculture development. 

This, he said, could be achieved if the irrigation sub-sector of agriculture was given the needed attention as it was the tool for green revolution and the game changer for agricultural transformation.

Writer's email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh