The Spanish Government shall in June begin the construction of two mechanized boreholes in the Bongo District..

The construction of the facilities which is for irrigation purposes would empower farmers in the area who have only one rainy season in a year.

In addition to the facility, a metrological centre, a farm store would be constructed and a tractor would also be provided to help facilitate the work of the farmers in the area.

Alhaji Ahmed Musbahu, the Bongo District Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), said this during a stakeholders’ workshop organised by the Tankoo Noyine Development Association (TANDA).

TANDA is a group of farmers based in Tankoo in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region and with the support from the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund, has through advocacy programmes demanded that its members be assisited with an irrigation facility.

Alhaji Musbahu assured the gathering that their plight would soon be over and said a technical team would soon arrive in the country to train the farmers.

He said that it was the intention of Government to turn the project site into a training centre for farmers and students of tertiary institutions who were pursuing agriculture.

Mr Alfred Asebila, Coordinator of Tankoo Noyine Development Association, said over the years the Association and other farmers in the community have shown concern about the absence of an irrigation facility in the Tankoo community.

He said the situation denied majority of farmers from the predominantly farming communities in the area from earning incomes during the long dry season.

He expressed gratitude to the Bongo District Assembly, MOFA and other stakeholders for the respective roles they played which led to the selection of a high yielding borehole in Tankoo by a Spanish agency for mechanization for irrigation purposes.

“This indeed is a very positive response from the assembly and we still hope and pray that the initial work that was started by the Village Infrastructure Project in collaboration with the Bongo District Assembly towards the construction of an irrigation dam will be reconsidered. This will ensure that a greater number of farmers around the area engaged in irrigation farming”

Mr John Adongo, who stood in for the District Chief Executive, appealed to the community members to ensure that the facilities are well secured and protected to prolong its lifespan.

Tankoo, Adaboya, Kantia, Beon and Apowongo, nayire, Beon-boekin, Beon Waliga, are among the beneficiary communities.

One of the mechanized boreholes would be constructed at the Nayire community whilst the other would be constructed at the Tanko community.