Pro-vice-Chancellor of the University for Development Studies (UDS), Engineer Professor Felix Kofi Abagale, has urged the government to establish what he calls 'Ghana Irrigation Development Fund(GIDFund)' to provide state of the art irrigation infrastructure and technologies across the country for all-year-round crop production.
Professor Abagale who doubles as director of the West African Centre for Water, Irrigation and Sustainable Agriculture (WACWISA) at the University, said the GIDFund, if established would not only make Ghana a net food exporter but also help her to tackle the widening inequality gaps that existed in the country as well as create employment opportunities for young people who have shown interest in pursuing agri-preneurship.
Professor Bagale made the call during the presentation of his inaugural lecture held weeks ago, at the University.
He said the Fund when established could be used in funding the works of the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority(GIDA) and that of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture(MoFA) thereby making the country less dependent on donor organisations financially.
"I, therefore, propose that 5 percent of the revenue from the Electronic Levy (E-Levy ), if passed by Parliament, should be used as a sinking fund to support the creation of a Ghana Irrigation Development Fund (GIDFund). Such a fund when created will help the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority(GIDA) and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture(MoFA) to provide all-year-round crop production," he said.
The inaugural lecture which was the 10th in the series, was on the theme, "Damming the Rivers for Sustainable Livelihoods: Challenges and Emerging Opportunities in the Global South", the lecture was attended by colleague lecturers, the university management, researchers, politicians among others.
He noted that sedimentation was fast affecting the existence of rivers and water bodies in Ghana and Africa in general, and called for pragmatic measures to help curb the menace.
He also called for more investment in the agricultural sector especially in protecting the land and water resources.
"The estimated volumetric storage capacity loss indicating the volume of sediment accumulated in the reservoirs is presented in table 22. Adwubi et Al(2009) reported that four small reservoirs in the Upper East region were losing their storage capacity rapidly at a mean rate of 1.75 percent per year, whilst Abubakari(2014) reported that the Tono reservoir was filling up rapidly with sediment by 1.74 percent" he said.
The Pro VC noted that rapid urban population growth was a threat to the survival of agriculture in Africa, especially Ghana as agricultural activities would have to compete with urban and industrial water needs.
"Freshwater is becoming increasingly scarce due to population growth, urbanisation, and climate change. These factors greatly affect the availability of freshwater for commercial, domestic, and agricultural purposes" he stated
Professor Abagale who has been working in soil and water development, water resource engineering, and irrigation engineering for the past 19 years, revealed further that out of the 800 million population in the African continent, 300 million people live in a water-scarce environment which inadvertently affects food security.
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Professor Felix Kofi Abagale