Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
9.1.2 Irrigation Development in the White Volta
sub-basin
Irrigation in the White Volta sub-basin was initiated by the Governments of
Burkina Faso and Ghana when they promoted the construction of small
reservoirs, large reservoirs and dugouts since the early 1950s. During the past
twenty years, however, the driving force behind irrigation development in the
sub-basin has been predominantly private and by associations of individuals
supplemented with some donor assistance. The trend of irrigation
development in Burkina Faso and in Ghana is comparable. However the rate
of development is more advanced in Burkina Faso compared to the Upper
East Region in Ghana. This may be the result of the Burkina government's
policy of improving the irrigation technologies initiated by private
individuals and also equipping farmer groups to manage their irrigation
systems.
In recent times the prospects of vegetable production has triggered the
initiation and upscaling of several irrigation technologies in the White Volta
sub-basin of the Volta Basin. These new irrigation technologies source their
water from permanent shallow wells, temporal shallow wells, riverine water
and riverine alluvial dugouts. The technologies have spread in the sub-basin
because the direct control of water sources, either through groundwater
pumping, drainage reuse or direct pumping from canals and rivers, has
brought flexibility in water delivery to farmers that the large-scale surface
distribution systems did not offer. The steadily growing market for
vegetables in the urban areas of southern Ghana and the transfer of
knowledge on irrigation technologies and farming have all contributed to the
upscaling of irrigation technologies in the sub-basin. Meanwhile it has also
brought challenges in managing irrigation development in the White Volta
sub-basin, because of the uncoordinated irrigation water use and the rising
competing uses of water.
A detailed and extensive survey of irrigation technologies was conducted in
three small adjacent catchment areas in the White Volta sub-basin, namely
Anayari (446 km
2
), Atankwidi (275 km
2
) and Yarigatanga (375 km
2
).
The survey revealed that those irrigation technologies characterised by
relatively small farm sizes are best managed by the surveyed farmers. This is
because these technologies enable farmers to provide adequate water and
crop nutrients, thus resulting in relatively high levles of productivity. These
highly productive irrigation technologies also achieve good profit margins
and provide income opportunities to the wider society in terms of labour.
Moreover, these technologies also have a relatively high participation of
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