Some vegetable farmers in the North East Region are appealing to the government to assist with some irrigation system as they seek to improve and boost crop production.
Currently, vegetable farmers at Kparigu in the North-East region are turning to an improvised irrigation system to ensure sufficient water for their crops. Some of the farmers say they are beginning to reap good returns from the system, despite the changing climate. Farmers’ levels of income have increased, though, they are still facing challenges.
For instance, the farmers in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region are resorting to an improvised irrigation system for the survival of their vegetables in the dry season. The farmers usually plant maize in the normal farming season and then grow onions, tomatoes, okra, carrots, pepper, garden eggs, cabbage and other vegetables in the dry season. However, they have to drench in dust and sweat before their vegetables can survive and look good for consumers in the market.
Haruna Alhassan Adams, a graduate from the Tamale Technical University recounts his previous bumper harvest and the challenges he is facing on his onion farm. Adams said he has been working on the farm for four years now as a graduate and how he waters the vegetables with the gallons of water for the past four years has been his problem.
“I have been farming for four years now and how to water the onions is our problem. Some of us don’t have machines to water them so we decided to get a ‘can’ like this. We cut the mouth of the ‘can’ so that we then use a pin, put it in fire and create the holes,” he said.
The small holes made on the gallons release water slowly into the soil, penetrating to the roots of the plant to enable it to flourish. Alhassan Adams said some of his colleagues use drugs like quick action and energy drinks to aid them to work.
“It is too difficult because when you water the crops and go home, you experience general body pains. If you are not careful you can’t sleep at night after watering the crops. You’ll be tired then, so we use quick action and energy drinks before we then come to water. We are appealing to the government to support us with an irrigation system. After the dry season farming, I make not less than GHC2, 000. Some will even get more than that because they use water pumping machines to water their vegetables.”
Haruna Alhassan Adams
Watara Zaara who also uses the improvised irrigation system to grow onions in the dry season sometimes harvests between seven and eight bags of onions at the end of the planting season.
“Last year, I harvested eight bags. We sold one bag at GHC120. If you are lucky, you could get more profit.”
According to the farmers, they are encouraged to use things that are readily available in their environment to produce food sustainably. However, they appealed to the government for an irrigation system to improve their productivity. Rising temperature, declining rainfall and stormy weather are some of the climate factors that account for the reduction in the water resource base in most parts of northern Ghana.
