Farmers in Kamega, Nagbere and adjourning communities in the Bawku west district of the upper east region are calling for urgent intervention to save their investments.
The residents who depend on the Kamega-Nagbere dam to irrigate their farms are now struggling to access water due to silting of the dam.
The Kamega-Nagbere dam was built in the 1960s to support irrigation farming in the Bawku west district.
The dam also serves as a source of water for livestock.
It has over the years been resourceful for the inhabitants especially by supporting dry season farming.
At least, an average of 300 acres of irrigated land is cultivated around the dam every dry season.
However, years of neglect led to the dam being silted.
Currently, the Kamega-Nagbere dam is unable to hold enough water to flow through the canals few months after every rainy season.
It takes more than five hours for water to trickle through the canals after the valves are opened.
Even that, the volume is never enough to reach the level of flowing onto the fields, affecting production.
this compelled the farmers to depend on small dugouts inside their farms to irrigate their crops.
Chairman of the garden farmers, John Anyagre Awingat, lamented the devastating impact of the silting of the Kamega-Nagbere dam.
Another farmer, Abugri Ayariga, appealed to authorities to intervene.
Aside from the irrigation, residents also depend on the Kamega-Nagbere dam as a source of water for their household chores.
By: Peter Quao Adattor
