Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
From the financial analysis of the two competing water uses, it is clear that,
more financial profits are made from upstream irrigation of vegetables (429
million US$/a) than the benefits foregone (42.5 million US$/a) for
hydropower generation at Akosombo. The loss to hydropower generation is
marginal compared to the total income generation for farmers and labourers
in the poorest areas of the country.
The 3.31 x 10
9
m
3
/yr reduction in inflow into Lake Volta results in saving
0.33 x 10
9
m
3
/yr that would otherwise have been lost through evaporation
from the Volta Lake - 10% of the reduced inflows is thus fully compensated
by reduced evaporation losses, leading to an increase in water use efficiency
at the basin scale.
Figure 8.15
: Impact of reduction of inflow into Lake Volta on hydropower
generation at Akosombo.
From the above findings it may be concluded that upscaling of irrigation
development in the White Volta sub-basin, maximizes the benefits from
water resources in the Volta Basin. The results confirm the conclusions made
by Leemhuis et al. (2009) that the impact of small reservoir development on
the water resources of the Volta Basin is marginal compared to their benefits
in securing food production and livestock during the dry season. However it
is important to determine a ceiling above which no further upstream water
uses should be permitted in order to ensure sustainable hydropower
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