The Agriculture Minister, Dr. Bryan Acheampong, has provided assurance to farmers residing in the nine districts impacted by the floods caused by the Akosombo Dam that the government will take the necessary measures to ensure they receive appropriate compensation.
According to him, the government has expressed its commitment to ensuring the complete restoration of the affected farmlands in the aftermath of the spillage, acknowledging the severe impact it has had.
During his speech to the audience on the presidential “Youth in Agriculture” initiative on Wednesday, October 18, at the Cedi Conference Centre, University of Ghana, Dr. Bryan Acheampong made this announcement. He claims that all victims will be equally compensated because they have all suffered financial losses.
“We have all witnessed the devastation as a result of the necessary action the VRA had to take to save the Akosombo Dam. As a result, several farmers have been affected, and a lot of them have been completely wiped out.”
“I have directed that, due to this emergency, 40 million dollars of the World Bank-funded food systems resilience programme be restructured to restore farmers fully whose farms have been wiped out due to the necessary action taken by the VRA to save us all,” Bryan Acheampong stated.
After the spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong dams, large areas of land were flooded, including farms and communities downstream. After both the Akosombo and Kpong dams in the Eastern Region experienced significant increases in water levels due to recent rainfall, the VRA began spilling water from the dams on September 15, 2023.
Power outages took place in all of the communities located along the lower Volta Basin after the spillage affected nine districts. Asuogyaman, North Tongu, South Tongu, Ada West, Ada East, Keta, Anlo, Shai Osudoku, and Central Tongu are among the affected communities.
An estimated 26,000 individuals have been forced to seek refuge elsewhere due to the spillage. As a result of flooding, the GRIDCo sub-station in Fievie, Sogakope, in the Volta Region, had to be shut down.
