Irrigation, the key to food security - Gyapong

Accra, July 14, GNA - The surest way of guaranteeing food sufficiency in Ghana is the adoption of a progressive irrigation regime, Mr John K. Gyapong, NDC MP for Akan, told Parliament on Thursday. "Irrigation mitigates the effects of declining soil fertility, erosion, deforestation, steady decline in rainfall quantities and outright drought."

Mr Gyapong, who was making a statement in Parliament on sustainable agricultural production, the role of irrigation, said modern methods of farming should replace traditional methods in other to make the life of a farmer and the consumer a better one.

He said due to the traditional method of farming poverty, high illiteracy rates, disease and civic inertia are the lot of the farmer. ''Irrigation is justified on the grounds that it ensures an all year round cultivation of crops especially where deficiency of climate constraint agriculture.''

Mr Gyapong said irrigation infrastructure already existed in the country that needs expansion and good maintenance. The MP said irrigation potential of the country was massive and appealed to the government to exploit those resources.

"In the midst of vast irrigation resources the country continuous to experience food shortages while available food becomes economically unaffordable." 14 July 05