John Dumelo pays working visit to ICOUR
The visit was aimed at engaging stakeholders to identify challenges facing farmers and explore potential solutions to enhance agricultural productivity in the region.
John Dumelo, Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, has paid a working visit to the Irrigation Company of Upper East (ICOUR), managers of the Tono Irrigation Scheme in Navrongo.
The visit was aimed at engaging stakeholders to identify challenges facing farmers and explore potential solutions to enhance agricultural productivity in the region.
Addressing the media during his visit on Monday April 14, 2025, the Minister assured farmers of the government’s commitment towards agriculture, stating that the government is ready to support irrigation farming all year round, through the recently launched Feed Ghana Programme.
Kwame Robert, Chairman of the Water Users Association (WUA) under the Tono Irrigation Scheme, highlighted the concerns of farmers within the scheme, particularly the lack of access to farm equipment and inputs, he urged government to subsidise fertilizer prices.
The Farmers Service Manager at ICOUR, Charles Aboyella enumerated the challenges faced by ICOUR including the deplorable state of roads which seeks immediate government intervention.
“One major challenge we face is our road network, our farmers suffer during harvesting because they cannot transport their farm produce to the market on time.” Aboyella said.
Simon Aworigo, Member of Parliament for Navrongo Central on his part, emphasized the importance of partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture and local stakeholders to address challenges faced by farmers.
In response to the concerns of stakeholders, the deputy agric minister assured that his ministry is working diligently to address the challenges faced by farmers, emphasizing the importance of irrigation in achieving the Feed Ghana Programme.
The minister was taken on a tour of the Tono Dam and other dams within surrounding communities to assess the potential for irrigation farming in the Kassena Nankana Municipality.
Mike 105.3 | Navrongo | Bernard Azukuzia Ane
Read More: Bad Roads Negatively Impacting Tono Irrigation Scheme – ICOUR
