Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday entered into an agreement with Kirloskar Brothers Limited, a multi-Purpose Engineering Company to rehabilitate all existing irrigation facilities and consider building new ones to support farming in Ghana.
"We have a lot of irrigation facilities that have been abandoned for some years now and I will want you to bring them back to shape and also build new facilities to enhance rice production and other staples that will subsequently reduce the importation of foodstuff into the country all year round."
Vice President Mahama said these when he held talks with the Company which expressed interest in carrying out irrigation projects in Ghana in the next few months to extend their technology to
Ghanaians.
He said the government had already drawn up a comprehensive plan to divert water from Akosombo and Kpong dams to irrigate the Accra plains
which had the potential of producing adequate rice to feed the Ghanaian population and also serve other neighbouring countries and appealed to the company to consider tackling that project in the coming years.
"We are also considering the option of irrigating lands at the Fumbisi Valley areas in the North to increase rice production in those areas as part of our plans to reduce rice importation drastically in the coming years."
He said all these programmes were geared towards making Ghana an influential exporter of food stuff, especially rice in the sub-saharan
region and appealed to the farmers to adhere to all the plans being made for the enhancement of their activities.
Mr