Government to roll out 7,160 million-euro agric project

Government is to roll out a programme under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) for agricultural investment in the Savannah Ecological Zone.

The 7,160 million Euros programme is to contribute to the development of a sustainable, resilient and modernised agriculture in the zone and all the 11 districts in the Upper West Region would benefit from it.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said this in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Kofi Dzamesi, the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, at the annual “Paari Gbielle” Festival of the chiefs and people of the Tumu Traditional Area in the Sissala East District.

He said government was also committed to fulfilling its campaign promise of providing each community in northern Ghana with one dam to help address the gradual hampering of agriculture by inadequate and erratic rainfall, floods and droughts.

The provision of dams would enable community members to produce food crops and vegetables all year round, especially during the off or dry seasons.

The dams would also provide jobs for the youth and help reduce the rural-urban migration.

In fulfilment of the one district, one factory project, Nana Akufo-Addo assured the people that the Ghana Cotton Ginnery in Tumu would be revamped.

He said five communities namely; Tumu, Bugubelle, Kong, Wellembelle and Kulfuo-Tarsor in the Sissala East District would have their dams desilted and rehabilitated with buffers created to protect the dams under the Adaptation Fund Project.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Ghana are jointly funding the project which would also come along with alternative livelihoods such as the provision of bee hives and fish caging.

President Akufo Addo said government was aware of the deplorable nature of roads in the district and gave the assurance that it was determined to complete ongoing roads and construct new ones to facilitate the transportation of people, goods and services.

He said the Tumu-Wellembelle, Tumu-Sorbelle, Tumu-Navrongo and Tumu-Hain roads would be upgraded, while the Nabugubelle-Dolibizon, Nabugubelle-Mwandouno, Bugubelle-Sentie, Bawiesibelle-Nabulo and Challu-Nabugubelle feeder roads would be worked on.

Emergency works at Tinabelle-Bawiesibelle and Dasima-Sentie feeder roads would also be tackled, President Akufo-Addo said.