Parts of the Upper West Region has experienced severe flooding after a continuous downpour in the region over the past few weeks. This led to the destruction of property running into millions of cedis.
A farmer in the region, Vincent Atinga shares a contrary belief to the assertion that heavy downpour caused the floods.
According to him, the spillage of the Bagre Dam well ahead of the warning date has caused the flooding, as he argues no heavy downpour can cause the magnitude of destruction recorded in the region.
Speaking on the Happy Morning Show with Samuel Eshun, the agitated farmer stated, “It has been raining heavily since 19th August and many farms were submerged but I believe the rains are not enough to cause this amount of destruction. We were warned the Bagre Dam will be spilled on 27th August but I believe they began spilling the dam on 19th August, 2021. I don’t think the heavy downpour could’ve flooded regions all the way from Burkina Faso to our towns.”
With the rains delaying this year, Vincent Atinga notes that some farmers relied on irrigation for the survival of their crops, “but now their investments have been futile. My farm is safe for now but from the way they talk about the spillage this time around, I believe my farm is already gone.”
To him, legislators are engaged in frivolous things when important matter like the annual Bagre Dam spillage is not being addressed. “Our farms are destroyed all the time and this is one of the many reasons the prices of maize have gone up. We survive on our farms and this damage is unbearable,” he lamented.
The farmer who invested over 5000cedis in his farm says he will not plant maize again if he is going to make losses all the time. “I am advising myself not to farm maize next year. I might plant watermelon to save myself the worry. Our situation is dire and something must be done about it quickly.”
Background
Damaging floods struck in Ghana‘s Upper West Region after recent heavy rainfall. Disaster authorities said over 1,605 people were affected and over 100 homes destroyed.
Furthermore flooding caused severe damage to roads and bridges in the region, impacting livelihoods and leaving some communities cut off.
With residents in the region still dealing with this disaster, Burkinabe authorities have said the spillage of the Bagre dam in Burkina Faso will begin on Friday, August 27.
In statement issued by Management of the dam, SONABEL said the water level of the Bagré dam is rising rapidly and opening of the valves can begin between August 27 and 30, 2021.