Until the government commits huge resources into rehabilitating the Vea Irrigation Dam Project, attempts by some farmers in the Upper East Region, who farm around the Vea dam and other irrigable portions of land under the Dam Project in surrounding communities, to revamp the production of tomatoes may hit a snag.
It would be recalled that recently, some farmers who spoke to A1 Radio, shared their unbridled desire to see the Upper East Region return to its former status as a hub for tomato production. They said while they are ready to commit resources to see this happen, they would need government support on infrastructural development.
Speaking on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East on the back of the comments made by the farmers, the Founder and Vice-Chancellor of the Millar Institute for Transdisciplinary and Development Studies (MITDS), Professor David Millar said while the idea remains a brilliant one, the government would have to commit huge resources to make this a reality.
He said he is aware of attempts by some individual farmers to desilt the canals and repair some of the broken laterals. He said these attempts may do very little to address the problems at hand.
“If you want to talk about effective vegetable production to meet the demand that is offered by even Tono or those in Burkina Faso, you need the government to do that,” he said.
When asked if government had shown the needed level of commitment to ensure that the dam is rehabilitated, Professor Millar said “unfortunately no. It was recently that the [Upper East Regional] Minister told me that the Agric Minister went to visit the area”.
A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
