The Ghana Hydrological Authority has called for an increased investment in irrigation systems in the country to boost vegetable production and exports.

They highlighted Ghana’s significant potential for exporting vegetables to the global market.

They, however, bemoaned that the lack of essential agricultural infrastructure currently hampers farmers’ ability to meet this demand.

In an interview with Citi News, the director in charge of hydrology at the Ghana Hydrological Authority, Sylvester Darko, stressed that reliable irrigation schemes are key to maintaining productivity throughout the year, thereby supporting the export market and reducing import needs.

“You observe that our colleagues in Burkina Faso can grow a lot of vegetables. How are they able to do that? They invested a lot in irrigation schemes. We also need to invest a lot in irrigation schemes. In the northern part of Ghana, there is only one rainy season which starts in June or July and ends somewhere in October.

“So, after this period, there’s virtually no water. If we have reliable irrigation schemes, agricultural productivity could continue beyond the rainy season. This could also improve the livelihoods of our people in the North and the food security situation will also improve.

“Subsequently, vegetable production, the cabbage, tomatoes, and onions they import down here will also increase and that will also help us reduce our import bill. Because we import a lot from Burkina Faso.

“Recently, when there was a problem in Niger, we saw that onion supply to Ghana went down. And so, these some of the things we do, we need to invest more in irrigation schemes,” Sylvester Darko said.