Tono irrigation to be ready 2021 - GCAP

Government has given the assurance that the Tono Irrigation Project in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region would be completed by April 2021.

This was disclosed by the Contracts Management Specialist of the Ghana Commercial Agricultural Project (GCAP), Mr Philip Daniel Laryea, when some members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs paid a working visit to the region on Monday.

Briefing the Parliamentary Select Committee, Mr Laryea explained the project was initially scheduled to be completed on April 15, 2020, but had delayed due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the flood that hit the region.

“All these affected the concrete works and the floor of the spillways. But currently, it is about 75 per cent complete.

‘’The rehabilitation and modernisation of the project started on October 16, 2018. Current estimates and revised contract sum — including the completion of the spillways is $29,176,417, while the initial contract sum was $19,984,447’’, he said.

He said the project was being funded by the World Bank through the Government of Ghana under the GCAP of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

The select committee was led by the acting Chairman and Member of Parliament for Akyiase, Mr Robert Kwasi Amoah.

Mr Amoah explained that the purpose of the visit was to assess the progress of work at the project site and to also find out the challenges confronting the farmers in the catchment area.

He indicated that the project, which had the potential of benefiting up to 4,000 farmers, if expanded, would help curb the unemployment situation in the region, particularly among the youth.

He added that the government was particularly interested in promoting local consumption of local products such as rice and tomatoes, noting that the project would help achieve that result and help save the country hard currencies for importing such products.