Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
on several factors. A successful management reform is likely to improve the
conditions of the large-scale irrigation system which has so far not realised
its full potential. Successful reforms which result in improved productivity of
government-led irrigation systems may motivate more investment in the
development of new irrigation systems.
Reliable Support for Irrigation Farming
Irrigation farmers will continue to rely on labour, energy, input markets and
credit support for their activities. The reliability of these essentials is very
important for future irrigation development in the sub-basin. As farmers
desire for new technologies the sustainability will depend on available
support services such as maintenance and skilled labour for such
technologies. Also affordable and reliable credit sources are likely to boost
the ability of farmers to invest more in irrigation development. Farmers may
explore more ways of accessing credits or farm inputs on credit basis for their
irrigation.
The risk of seeking credits for irrigation activities cannot be overlooked.
Farmers who borrow money for irrigation are likely to run into debts if they
fail in making profits. This can result in demoralising the farmers from
investing in irrigation, thereby causing a decline in development and
production. A loss of profit for tomatoes farmers in 2003 due to output
market failure resulted in farmers deserting their farms. This can be deduced
from the drop in cultivated areas of the Vea Irrigation scheme from 2003 to
2005 (see Table 7.4). Similar losses resulted in two farmers committing
suicide in the Upper East Region of Ghana in 2009 (Daily Guide, 2009).
7.5 F
UTURE
I
RRIGATION
D
EVELOPMENT IN THE
W
HITE
V
OLTA SUB
-
BASIN
Irrigation development in the basin started in the early 1950s with the
construction of small reservoirs. This was followed by the development of the
large-reservoir irrigation schemes between 1960 and 1980. The period in
which private-led irrigation systems started could not be established from
the satellite images due to lack of suitable images and sufficient spatial
resolution. Interviews conducted in the study area revealed that private-led
irrigation systems intensified in the mid 1990s due to rising demand for
vegetables in the urban centres of southern Ghana. The challenges associated
with government-led irrigation systems, the advent of appropriate irrigation
technologies, a favourable land-tenure system and an enabling local support
environment, which include labour, technical services and farm inputs on the
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