The Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) has revealed that it currently costs approximately $40,000 to develop an irrigation scheme for a single hectare of farmland.
Speaking in an interview with Bernard Avle, acting CEO of GIDA, Ing. Richard Oppong-Boateng, revealed that it currently costs approximately $40,000 to develop an irrigation scheme for a single hectare of farmland.
Farmers in the five northern regions are struggling with the impact of the ongoing drought, which has been worsened by over two months of no rainfall. Ing. Oppong-Boateng explained that the current land area that has been irrigated is woefully inadequate compared with the total of 1.9 hectares of irrigable land.
He further disclosed that GIDA is currently undertaking other initiatives in an attempt to increase Ghana’s irrigable land space.
“Per the decree, we are supposed to identify water resources in the country that are suitable for irrigation, and we have done close to 19,000 hectares of irrigable land. We have 1.9 million hectares, but if you add the private irrigation farms, now we have done about 220,000 hectares, which is a little over 12 percent of our potential of 1.9 million hectares.
“Since last year, there has been upscaling, and as I speak now, we are rehabilitating some irrigation schemes, and if you put all that we are doing this year together, we are doing close to 5,000 hectares.” He expressed optimism, saying, “If we keep up with this momentum, I am sure that we will be able to do about 700,000 hectares in the next 5 to 10 years.”
He further reiterated the significant cost involved, stating that it requires about $40,000 to irrigate one hectare of farmland.
