A total of 570 dams are to be constructed in the three northern regions of the country, this year, Ghana's Vice President, H.E. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has announced.
A similar number of dams, Dr Bawumia said, would, in addition, be constructed across the three northern regions next year while the Sissala area, comprising Sissala East and West districts, would get 10 dams apiece.
He disclosed that feasibility studies had been undertaken and consultative fora held, with work on the first of these dams set to begin in a couple of weeks, ahead of the rainy season.
Addressing the annual "Paarigbielle" festival of the chiefs and people of the Tumu Traditional Area in the Upper West Region on Saturday, the Vice President said the One-Village One-Dam Project was the NPP Government's manifesto pledge to facilitate community-owned and managed small-scale irrigation facilities across the country, especially in northern Ghana.
He said the dams, together with other interventions in the agricultural sector, were expected to have a great impact on Ghana's food security and improve the lives of farming communities.
Citing the implementation of the Free Senior High School Programme, Planting for Food and Jobs, restoration of Teacher and Nursing Trainee allowances, and the reduction in electricity bills, Dr Bawumia said the One-Village One-Dam project was another sign of the Akufo-Addo government's commitment to fulfilling the promises it made to Ghanaians ahead of the 2016 elections.
According to Vice President Bawumia, Government was also committed to ensuring value addition in the agriculture sector and was, therefore, engaged in discussions with potential investors to add value to such crops as cotton and maize. "Government is in contact with prospective investors, some of whom have expressed interest in the Tumu Ginnery and we certainly would facilitate the revamping of the Tumu Ginnery as one of the projects in line with our One-District One-Factory policy," he disclosed.
He said Government, under the policy of Planting for Investment and Export, was encouraging farmers, especially farmers in the three northern regions, to embrace the cultivation of cashew as an important cash crop which would protect the environment and provide stable income for farmers.
"The Ministry of Agriculture and the District Assemblies are facilitating the cashew project implementation and it is hoped that our farmers would realize the tremendous benefits to be derived from the cultivation of the multi-purpose cash crop, the cultivation of which has specifically been designed for the purpose of poverty reduction," Dr Bawumia disclosed.
The 2018 Paarigbielle festival was celebrated under the theme: Paarigbielle festival, a vehicle for fostering good neighbourliness to propel the socio-economic development of the area.
It was attended by high profile personalities from Sissala, including Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery, who is also MP for Nandom; Water and Sanitation Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda, who is also MP for Navrongo Central; and Hon Abass Ridwan Dauda, MP for Sissala East.
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