Correspondence from Bono Region:
Farmers in the Ejura-Sekyedumasi Municipality of the Ashanti Region are counting their loss after several acres of farmlands were submerged after torrential rainfall.
Those worst hit are rice farmers at Aframso and other surrounding communities, a major rice hub in the region as an estimated 200 acres of rice farm at two irrigation sites, SCIMP and ALPHA Limited have all been submerged.
The farms belonging to two farmer-based organisations dotted along the banks of the Afram River and at Ntomamum have been washed away after a heavy downpour.
The rainfall destroyed the boundaries of the irrigation sites and swept over the farms submerging them in the process.
According to the affected farmers, the impact will be dire as they will struggle to make ends meet because they have lost all monies invested into their farms.
They disclosed that looking at the devastating effects of the rains this year, there is the need for immediate support from the government to ease the burden on them.
“Rice farmers in Aframso and Ntomamum are counting our losses as we have been badly affected following a heavy downpour. Our rice farms have been submerged and we have lost everything. We are therefore appealing to the authorities to come and help us”.
The Assembly Member for the Aframso Electoral Area and one of the affected farmers, Ali Zakari told Ghanaweb in an interview that over eleven acres of rice farm belonging to him have been destroyed.
Ali Zakari disclosed that the leadership of the farmers has made a formal report to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and other responsible government organisations but they are yet to receive any support.
He has appealed to the government and other stakeholders to help them reconstruct the damaged irrigation dams.
“I have lost over eleven acres as a result of the rains this year but we have reported the issue to the authorities concerned and we are hopeful that we will get the needed support. In the interim, we want them to fix the irrigation sites for us”.
Meanwhile, independent checks by Ghanaweb confirmed that personnel from National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) have since visited the scene to ascertain the extent of damage and are also in direct contact with MOFA to get some support for the affected farmers.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
