Sandbar blockage of Anlo-Anyanui channel: Agriculture activities at standstill, farmers’ livelihoods destroyed

Agricultural ac­tivities along the Anlo­ga-Anyanui channel of the Volta River in the Anloga District of the Volta Re­gion have almost come to a standstill.

This is because large tracks of farms close to the banks of the river have been flooded following the blockage of the channel linking the area to the stream at Ada-Foah in the Greater Accra Region.

What is worse is that the now stagnant water emits an offensive odor and is not only killing fish and crab species but also flooding the ponds and wells on the farms which are no longer suitable for production of crops.

The channel got blocked after tidal waves hit the area completely destroying Pu­veme a community near Anyanui and ended up dividing the channel into two.

As a result, the river can no longer flow freely through the channel into the sea and vice-versa leading to the flooding of com­munities downstream at the slightest rain.

The Keta Lagoon which has also become the collection point for excess water from the Volta River, the Avu Lagoon, River Tordzi, and River Dayi has also compound­ed the problems of the farmers with the daily flows.

When the Ghanaian Times visited the area at the weekend for this special report facilitated with support from Gower Street, the farmers had indeed abandoned their flooded farms, some of which had the destroyed crops on them.

According to them, this is the second time in over 30 years they were experienc­ing such magnitude of destruction which had affected their livelihoods.

The Chief Farmer of the Whuti Srogboe Electoral area in the Anlo District, Mr James Nutakor, a vegetable farmer said the salty nature of the water had destroyed the crops on the beds.

He said he lost approximately eight acres of tomatoes crops on 480 garden beds which could have fetched him GH¢6000 a week during harvesting but all that had been destroyed by the salty water.

He said his okra, onion, and pepper farms were also not spared, adding, that, his other colleagues numbering over 350 were all go­ing through the same pain and only hoping the water would eventually recede for them to start life all over again.

As to whether they have had any assis­tance from government, Mr. Nutakor re­plied in the negative and urged government to help provide them with improved seeds that would stand the tests of time.

“We would be very grateful if the government also supports us with start-up capitals to enable us begin all over again,” he added.

Another farmer, Mr. Francis Kwaku Fiase who said he always harvested about 70 crates of tomatoes a week during the peak season lamented that he has lost a fortune, as they could not plant any crop this year as a result of the flooding.

He said even though they reported the matter to the Assembly, nothing was heard from them.

Mr. Fiase also attributed the blockage of the channel at the Anyanui to the disas­ter that befell them and called for it to be dredged.

The Assemblyman for Dzita-Agbledomi, Mr. Jasper Agbenator said the salty water had completely destroyed the livelihood of the people and could even make it worse if urgent action is not taken to dredge the blocked channel.

The District Chief Executive for Anloga, Mr Seth Yormewu who shared the plight of the affected farmers said they had written to the Volta River Authority (VRA) for assistance and had been assured that the channel would soon be dredged to enable the farmers go about their normal activities again.

When contacted an official VRA who asked not to be named because he has not been authorised to speak, said the authority is preparing to move a dredger to the site to begin dredging work on the channel soon.