Rice farms ravaged after Tono Dam spillage

• Posted on September 4, 2018
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

About 500 hectares of rice farms under the Tono irrigation project in Navrongo in the Upper East Region have been submerged as a result of the spillage of the Tono Dam.

The spillage comes on the back of torrential rains and spillage of the Bagre dam putting the lives of residents along the spillway in danger.

The Tono dam covers 1,860 hectares of land and stores 90 million meters cubic of water.

The water level had risen to 180.54 meters with 1.3 meters of water on top of the crest of the spillway.

The acting Director of Irrigation Company of Upper Region (ICOUR), Sebastian Bagina, said “the rains have been very torrential, so we have a lot of flood coming into the dam leading to this spillage for the past one week, and all our cropping area that is immediately adjacent the River banks are all flooded.”

“We have a lot of farmers who have planted rice on their low lands, and this floodwater has inundated all these areas. Though we are yet to quantify the affected area of farms, I can say about 500 to 600 hectares of rice farms would have been affected by this spillage.”

The Navrongo Municipal Chief Executive, William Aduum, said the spillage was having a devastating impact on food security and shelter for residents along the spillway, and thus appealed to the government for urgent intervention.

“Until this spillage stops we are going to have flooding in the Bognia, Naaga, Chuchuliga, Gaani and the Naaga communities, and it usually has a negative impact on our people… we appeal to the central government to come to our aid immediately the water levels recede”.

Source: CNR