The Minister for Food and Agriculture and Abetifi Member of Parliament(MP) Bryan Acheampong has said the government has completed 574 dams which are serving their purposes under the One Village One Dam(1V1D) policy.
The policy involves constructing multipurpose dams in select villages to support dry-season farming in northern Ghana.
Speaking during the monthly economic update at the Ministry of Finance in Accra, Mr Acheampong said the dams have been very useful.
“There is a big difference between an irrigation scheme and a dam. A dam holds water. The irrigation brings water from the water body into the dam. The whole idea in the NPP manifesto One Village, One dam which was concentrated up north was: they only had one major planting season, just one, unlike the south that we have the major and the minor,” he stated.
The Minister continued, “Now the rains there are very heavy within a very short period of time and when it rains, the water just runs off. So, the idea was that then let’s build these dugouts to hold the rain water.
“So, we have done 574 or so of them and that have served the purpose very well in terms of holding the rain water, in this case, there were no rains to be able to fill the dams so that the farmers will use.”
Mr. Acheampong said the dams were very effective last year when the country had more rains leading to bumper harvest.
According to him, one of the most successful thing they have done is the One Village One Dam they build in up north.
Source: Jagri Boaz Binyinjom
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