Farmers in the Bolgatanga Central Constituency are set to receive free ploughing, fertiliser, seeds and irrigation support under a new partnership between Member of Parliament Isaac Adongo and the Irrigation Company of Upper Region (ICOUR) aimed at expanding dry-season production and creating jobs.
The partnership forms part of the Grassroots Integrated Agriculture Support Programme (GIASP), an initiative announced by the MP to support farmers and young people in the constituency.
Speaking after an engagement with farmers in the Yikene community, ICOUR Managing Director Dr Dominic Anarigide said the collaboration will focus on revamping production under the Vea Irrigation Scheme, which extends through the Bongo District and Bolgatanga Municipality.
“The MP has reached out to us to see how we can collaborate to ensure that the farmers in his constituency as well as the youth benefit from government programs in agric,” Dr Anarigide said.
He said the Vea Irrigation Scheme covers several communities within the Bolgatanga Municipality, making collaboration necessary to provide adequate support to farmers.
“You will notice that ICOUR, the Vea dam runs through the two districts that are Bongo District and that of Bolga Municipal. In Bolga Municipal, it is covering a number of communities and he alone cannot do it all, so we are partnering to put our heads together to see how we can support the farmers in the production of the tomato, pepper and then rice,” he said.
Under the programme, Mr Adongo will provide fertiliser and cover the cost of ploughing plots for participating farmers, while ICOUR will provide seeds, seedlings, irrigation water and additional fertiliser.
“So we want to revamp the production in the scheme, that’s what ICOUR is doing. And the MP wants to partner with us by providing some of the inputs. For instance, he’s providing fertilizer. He’s also prepared to plough the plots for the farmers. And we also provide them with the seeds. We provide them with also water and then also some of the seed, some of the fertilizers as well,” Dr Anarigide explained.
He said ICOUR would complement fertiliser already provided by the MP with organic and additional inorganic fertiliser.
“So we will provide them with the organic fertilizer and some of the other inorganic as well,” he said.
Dr Anarigide also disclosed that Mr Adongo has committed GH¢50,000 under GIASP to support the desilting of irrigation canals connecting farms to the Vea Dam.
The intervention is expected to improve water flow through canals that are currently in poor condition and provide farmers with more reliable irrigation for tomato, pepper and rice production.
Dr Anarigide said the collaboration was necessary because neither the MP nor ICOUR could independently address all the challenges confronting farmers.
“Because he alone cannot do it all, so we are partnering to put our heads together to see how we can support the farmers,” he said.
The Grassroots Integrated Agriculture Support Programme is aimed at increasing food production, improving farmers’ livelihoods and creating employment opportunities, particularly for young people in Bolgatanga Central.
Farmers who participated in the Yikene engagement welcomed the initiative and expressed hope that the support with inputs, mechanisation and irrigation would help them increase production during the upcoming dry season.
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