The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, has said the Akosombo Dam spillage has triggered a food emergency and the government will surely support all those affected.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Thursday (19 October), Acheampong said, “The Volta River is used for a lot of vegetable farming and so if we have such a situation then it tells you that we have to act quickly else we’ll face a tomato, onion and general vegetable challenges in the country.”
He added, “So for us, this is a food emergency that has been triggered and every resource that we can master will be pumped into the Volta Region and the Ada areas that have been heavily affected by the spillage. We are going to live up to the task …”
Meanwhile, the minister has assured all farmers in the nine districts who have been affected by the recent spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong Dams that the government will ensure their full restoration following the devastating impact of the spillage on their farmlands.
Impact of spillage
Tracts of land, including farms and communities downstream from the Akosombo Dam and the Kpong Dam have been flooded following the spillage of excess water from the two dams used to generate about one-third of Ghana’s electricity supply.
The VRA started the spillage at the Akosombo and Kpong dams, both in the Eastern Region, on 15 September 2023, following a rise in the water level of both reservoirs due to appreciable levels of rainfall.
The spillage affected nine districts which include almost all the communities along the lower Volta Basin, resulting in widespread power cuts in the affected communities. The districts affected are Central Tongu, North Tongu, South Tongu, Ada West, Ada East, Keta, Anlo, Shai Osudoku and Asuogyaman.
In all, about 26,000 persons are said to be displaced as a result of the spillage. The GRIDCo substation in Fievie, Sogakope, in the Volta Region, has been inundated, leading to the shutting down of the station.
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