Akosombo dam spillage: Food shortage looms – Kwabena Donkor warns

-

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Pru East, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, has predicted a possible food shortage in Ghana in 2024.

This follows the spillage of the Akosombo dam which has caused flooding in communities along the bank of the Volta Lake.

He said that “What exacerbates the situation is that in Pru, Oti, Bono East, Savannah, and Northern, farmlands have also been flooded, so there is a possibility of a serious food inadequacy and food insecurity going forward next year [2024] because farmlands have been flooded and the crops have not survived.”

Dr. Donkor revealed that, the inundation of the communities along the lake began between June and July 2023 but had not been taken seriously because there had not been any coverage of the situation.

He further stated that, victims of the flooding had so far only received communal assistance.

Nine communities in the Pru East District of the Bono East Region have been submerged after the Volta Lake broke its banks.

This has led to over 2,500 people being rendered homeless.

The most hit communities include Kobre Nsuano, Pentecost Nsuano, Adiembra, Fanteakura, Tokobikope, Tonka, Agokope, and Logakope, among others.

This was made known by the Pru East District Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Fredrick Ndila Ntana, in an interview with Citi News on Monday.

Meanwhile, over 30,000 people have been displaced following the spillage of the Akosombo dam in various communities in the Volta and Eastern regions.

The Volta River Authority (VRA) commenced controlled spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams on September 15, 2023, due to a consistent rise in the inflow pattern and water level of the Akosombo reservoir.

Thousands of residents in South Tongu, North Tongu, Central Tongu, Asuogyaman, and several other areas have been affected by the spillage.

ALSO READ: