The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Eric Opoku, has assured farmers and contractors of the Kpong Irrigation Scheme that government is taking steps to immediately resume rehabilitation works, which have stalled due to funding challenges.
Mr Opoku gave the assurance during a working visit to the project site at Asutsuare, where he inspected ongoing works and engaged stakeholders on challenges confronting the project.
According to the Minister, four outstanding payment certificates submitted by contractors have already been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for prompt action.
“Within the shortest possible time, payment will be effected and work will resume on site,” he stated.
The Kpong Irrigation Scheme Rehabilitation and Modernisation Project, being executed 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 about 75 per cent complete, but has been suspended due to financial constraints.
Mr Eric Opoku, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Asunafo South Constituency, described irrigation development as a key pillar of government’s Agriculture for Economic Transformation agenda and the Feed Ghana Programme, which seeks to move Ghana away from dependence on rain-fed agriculture.
“Kpong is the largest irrigation infrastructure in the country and it is where our focus must be,” he said, adding that government would ensure the project is completed without undue delay.
He further announced government’s approval for the establishment of Farmer Service Centres on both the Left and Right Banks of the scheme to provide farmers with access to machinery, inputs, training and modern farming technologies.
On the technical front, Mr Kofi Modzaka, Technical Supervising Consultant for the FSRP under the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) said the ongoing works were a continuation of interventions started under the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP), which was completed in 2021.
He explained that the rehabilitation includes the conversion of open canals into closed pipe systems, canal lining, road and drainage rehabilitation, as well as the installation of automation and instrumentation systems.
Mr Kofi Modzaka disclosed that about 96 per cent of the 62 kilometres of open canals earmarked for conversion had been completed, while rehabilitation of major access roads stood at about 65 per cent. Automation and instrumentation works, he said, were approximately 30 per cent complete, with key equipment yet to be imported. Overall project completion, he noted, stands at about 75 per cent, with 25 per cent remaining.
On behalf of farmers, the President of the Kpong Irrigation Scheme Water Users Association, Mr Charles Tetteh Hombey, welcomed the Minister’s visit but raised concerns over difficulties in marketing rice produced under the scheme.
“We produce, but we cannot sell,” he said, appealing to government to engage aggregators and off-takers to purchase farmers’ produce, as some had defaulted on loans due to unsold rice. He also warned that prolonged suspension of the project could negatively affect livelihoods in the area.
Responding, the Minister of Food and Agriculture said government, through the National Food Buffer Stock Company, was engaging millers and aggregators to mop up excess rice to sustain production and farmer confidence.
He reaffirmed government’s commitment to supporting farmers, stressing that functional irrigation systems were critical to ensuring food security, particularly in the face of climate change.
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