VEGETABLE farmers at Degedege in the Tain District in the Brong Ahafo Region have appealed to the government, as a matter of urgency, to work on the channels in the irrigation dam leading to their farms in order to prevent their crops from withering.
A visit to the dam site by the Daily Graphic saw the farmers in a desperate attempt to save their vegetables from destruction, as a result of serious damages to the channels.
The Chief of the area, Nana Kwabena Mensah, who is one of the vegetable farmers, lamented the extent of damage to the channels that had impeded the flow of water to the farmlands.
“The channels were poorly built and the amount of cement used for the construction was very small,” he observed.
Nana Mensah stated further that the situation had made it possible for crabs to make holes through the channels to the farms, resulting in water flowing to the farmlands.
Most of the farmers who spoke to the Daily Graphic at their farms were disappointed at the current situation, saying if the crops withered, life would be unbearable for them.
Nana Mensah stressed that if immediate action was not taken, poverty levels in the area could swell astronomically.
“Now we do not know what to do. Last year, a team from Accra promised to assist in repairing the dam but the members have since not returned,” the chief lamented.
The dam, which was constructed under the Village Infrastructure Projects (VIP) to assist in alleviating poverty in the area, has over the past four years carved an image for itself as the main producer of vegetables such as okro, tomatoes, onion, garden eggs, especially in the dry season.
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