Asutsuare: Mr Eric Opoku, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, has assured farmers and contractors of the Kpong Irrigation Scheme of the government's commitment to resume work on the rehabilitation and modernisation of the scheme within the shortest possible time. The Minister gave this assurance during a working visit to the project sites at Asutsuare in the Greater Accra Region to acquaint himself with the progress of work and challenges affecting the project.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr Opoku stated that he had received about four certificates requesting payments, which he had forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for immediate action. He assured that payments would be effected shortly, allowing work to resume on site. The Kpong Irrigation Scheme Rehabilitation and Modernisation Project, under the World Bank-funded Food System Resilience Project (FSRP), covers a total area of 4,040 hectares. The 22.5-million-dollar project, which commenced in November 2024, is currently about 75 per cent complete but has been suspended due to financial constraints.
Mr Opoku highlighted that irrigation development was central to the government's Agriculture for Economic Transformation agenda and the Feed Ghana Programme, which aimed to transition Ghana from rain-fed to year-round irrigation agriculture. He emphasized that Kpong represents the biggest irrigation infrastructure in Ghana and assured that the government would ensure its timely completion. Additionally, he announced the approval of Farmer Service Centres for the Left and Right Banks of the Kpong Scheme to support smallholder farmers with machinery, inputs, training, and modern technologies.
During the visit, Mr Kofi Modzaka, Technical Supervising Consultant for the FSRP under the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA), noted that the current phase of the project continued works initiated under the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP), completed in 2021. He explained that the rehabilitation involved extensive civil works, including converting open canals into closed pipe systems, canal lining, road rehabilitation, drainage works, and the installation of automation and instrumentation systems.
Mr Modzaka reported that the conversion of about 62 kilometres of open channels into closed pipe systems under the FSRP was about 96 per cent complete, while the rehabilitation of main routes stood at 65 per cent. Automation and instrumentation works were at about 30 per cent, with equipment yet to be transported into the country. He stated that overall completion was about 75 per cent, with 25 per cent remaining to complete the project. He noted that the full rehabilitation would improve water-use efficiency, increase agricultural production, enhance farmers' incomes, and reduce potential conflicts.
On behalf of farmers, Mr Charles Tetteh Hombey, President of the Kpong Irrigation Scheme Water Users Association, welcomed the Minister's visit but expressed concern over market access for rice produced under the scheme. He highlighted the challenge of unsold produce, appealing for the allocation of aggregators and off-takers to purchase farmers' rice, as some had defaulted on loans due to unsold produce. He expressed anxiety over the suspension of works, warning that prolonged delays could adversely affect livelihoods in the area.
Mr Opoku responded by stating that the government, through the National Food Buffer Stock Company, was working to address marketing challenges by engaging millers and aggregators to mop up excess rice, thereby sustaining farmer confidence and production. He reaffirmed the government's support for farmers, stressing that functional irrigation systems were critical to national food security, especially in the face of climate variability.