1-village 1-dam policy: Akufo-Addo copied govt’s programme – Minister

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru is alleging that the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party(NPP) mimicked government’s Farm Service Centre programme already underway to confuse Ghanaians with his most recent campaign promise- 1-village – 1 – dam policy.

“We have put in there that we are going to establish farm service centres. And each farm service centre is going to be supported by at least a minimum of 1600 hectares of irrigable land. And you know when we discuss these things, his people who are closer to us and they get these information pass it on to him and they go and blow it and say 1-village-1-dam. That is not what we are saying; we’re making sure that we are going to establish farm service centres and its going to be a one stop shop that will have a mechanization units. And we are saying that to be able to make them functional, we have not less than 1600 hectares of irrigable land to support that,” he stated in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM.

NPP flagbearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced to locals while addressing the Bolgatanga Traditional Council in the Upper East Region his vision to create at least one dam to serve the purpose of irrigation for peasant farmers in each village within Northern Ghana.

The policy according to critics is not feasible, but the opposition NPP still maintains its viability, when it comes to power.

Commenting on the back of this proposal put forward by the three-time flagbearer of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo, Alhaji Limuna shot down the project insisting scientifically it’s impossible to establish this kind of programme in every hamlets and villages of the north.

“We are not talking of the monetary terms, if we say it is not possible. Scientifically you cannot continue to be damming everywhere, because you cannot go to every village and begin to dam; that is not possible,” he stressed.

He continued: “We are already appreciating the fact that irrigation is key in boosting agriculture. And that we’re already doing irrigation dam and irrigation programme. He’s going round now promising that when he gets power, he’ll do one dam in one village, but we’ve started these things that is solve the problem of not depending so much on the rain. The issue of agric does not solely depend on irrigation. There are a lot of factors that come into play to be able to solve the problem of agric. Irrigation is key, but we are doing mechanization.”