Mr Patrick Acheampong, the 2025 Bono East Regional Farmer has called on the government to revamp the defunct Tanoso Irrigation Dam in the Techiman Municipality.
He said the dam used to serve hundreds of farmers, spread across about 80 communities in the area until it was broken down decades ago, saying that the farmers required the dam and irrigation facilities for the implementation of the government’s ‘Feed Ghana’ programme.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) during a visit to the dam site at Tanoso, Mr Acheampong said beyond crop production, the dam also served as a source of water for livestock farmers.
He expressed worry that the farmers in the area had made several efforts for the dam to be repaired but to no avail.
Mr Acheampong said the condition of the dam now had made farming and livestock production unattractive in the area, saying that the farmers required irrigation facilities to boost their economic activities.
He said many of the farmers had moved from commercial to peasant farming while others had also left farming as a commercial venture.
Mr Acheampong said irrigation facilities in the area were essential, to enable farmers to practice year-round farming and to increase food and livestock production.
He said fixing the dam would also motivate many of the unemployed youth in the area to engage in farming.
He also called on the government to support the farmers with agricultural inputs and agro-chemicals like fertilizer as well as hybrid seedling and modern farming equipment.
Mr Acheampong said he had over 75 hectares of vegetable farms including pepper and tomato as well as livestock, maize, and fruits farms.
The GNA noticed that all the canals and water pipes at the dam site had broken down because of rusting.
By Jerry Azanduna, GNA