President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday commissioned another flagship project at Namoligo in the Talensi Constituency of the Upper East Region.
It was a remarkable event because a promise had been fulfilled. Joining the President to relish the moment were the Upper East Regional Minister, Paulina Abayage, and the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto.
It is one of 10 small dams which have been completed by government through GIDA/Ministry of Food and Agriculture for which the contract was awarded in May 2019, and it has been substantially completed.
With the project costing GH¢2.5 million, the Namoligo dam has a water storage capacity of 145,300 cubic metres and a minimum dam life of 40 years.
The President was told that for occasional (supplementary) irrigation, the cropping area for vegetables can increase to some 50 hectares, with optimum yields assured, since crops will always get the needed water required for healthy growth throughout the growth stages.
To facilitate water access for irrigation, two outlets, controlled by sluice valves, have been provided at vantage points to allow free flow of water on either side of the valley.
Indeed, GIDA has constructed 10 similar small dams with irrigation outlets in the Upper West Region and the Northern Region, both in support of the “One Village One Dam” programme.
The President urged members of the community to take very good care of the dam and hoped that the Namoligo community and the other 10 communities that are beneficiaries of the dams would use them for their own benefit.
Government’s “One Village One Dam” policy has since its inception churned out such interventions across the country.
They are made up of a number of small-earth dams for water storage, irrigation and usage by livestock. This is the largest stock of such small-earth dams provided since independence.
Thus far, 439 small-earth dams are under construction and 375 have been completed, while 64 are between 90 and 100 per cent complete. Each dam provides water for up to five hectares of farmland.
Under the Akufo-Addo government, the Tono irrigation dam has been rehabilitated and rehabilitation projects on both the left and right banks of Kpong are also in progress.
From Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Namoligo