Irrigation project takes off in Mamprugu-Moaduri District

The 10-million Euro "Sisili-Kulpawn Integrated Water Management Project" would help to transform agriculture in the area from small peasant farming to mechanised agriculture upon completion.

The project, which is a collaborative venture of four institutions, would take five years to complete.

The partners in the construction of the project are the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), Wienco Ghana Limited, and the Wageningen University and the Rebel Group International, both in the Netherlands.

The facility is being supported by the Dutch Government under its Sustainable Water Fund Facility.

At a forum at Yagaba to create awareness about the facility, the Project Manager, Mr Tom Durang, noted that as part of the project, a research station would be provided for field training and knowledge transfer to beneficiary farmers.

According to him, the Dutch government alone was providing six million Euros while other partners would take care of the remaining four million Euros.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SADA, Mr Gilbert Iddi, expressed optimism that when the project was completed the socio-economic lives of the people would be transformed for the better.

The Minister of State at the Presidency in charge of Development Authorities, Dr Mustapha Ahmed, told the people to own the project.

The Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Hans Docter, expressed gratitude to the people for their level of commitment to the successful implementation of the project.

Some farmers in the area expressed their commitment to ensure that the project succeeded but they entreated their colleagues to take good care of their animals, especially cattle, so that they would not destroy crops that would be cultivated under the project.

By Vincent Amenuveve/Daily Graphic/Ghana