Project Benefits

The project benefits cover irrigation, fisheries, power generation and flood control as explained below:

• The key benefit of the 25,000-hectare Irrigation Scheme will be the largest in the country. The scheme will boost economic activity in the Upper East and North East regions, as it will enhance the productivity of farming and attract large-scale commercial farms supported by about 15,000 out grower farmers. The project has the potential to increase annual rice production in the country by up 117,000 tons and maize by up to 49,000 tons, reducing imports of these grains by 16% and 32% respectively. This will save foreign exchange as well as stabilise prices of these commodities on the local market. Other crops that will benefit from increased production include onion, tomatoes, sweet potato, sweet pepper and watermelon.

The scheme will also form the nucleus of an agro industry to process the output of the farms. This scheme will support Government’s policy of Planting for Food and Jobs as well as the One-District One-Factory initiative. Other potential benefits include development of aquaculture and fisheries.

• The hydropower component will increase Ghana’s renewable energy capacity and contribute to meeting Ghana’s commitments under the United Nations Framework for Climate Change (UNFCC). Ghana’s target is to achieve 10% renewable by 2030, from the less than 2% today. The project will also, have a solar component with the solar energy complementing hydro energy to enhance reliability of supply. The electricity infrastructure created by the project will also provide access to electricity in the northern part of Ghana and enhance the reliability of power supplied to the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo).

• The dam will also provide protection from the perennial floods that occur in the White Volta basin during the rainy season. It will also help manage spillage of water from the Bagre dam. This will reduce the regular damage to property and enhance income security. In 2018, floods in the area affected 52,000 people and led to 34 deaths and 2 people missing. Farms and properties were also, destroyed.