More than 2,500 rice farmers under the Weta Irrigation Scheme (WIS) in the Ketu North Municipality of the Volta Region have been left counting huge losses after days of torrential rains submerged approximately 97 percent of the 1,800 hectares of rice fields currently under cultivation.
The affected farmers have issued an urgent appeal to the government for immediate intervention, estimating their losses at over GH¢59.9 million. The flooding, which has devastated vast stretches of farmland, has wiped out months of investment and threatens the livelihoods of thousands of households that depend on rice production for survival.
The Weta Irrigation Scheme, established in 1977 and located about one kilometre from the Accra-Aflao International Highway, remains one of Ghana’s largest and most important irrigation projects. In 1983, the land was divided into eleven sections and allocated to farmers for rice cultivation as part of efforts to create employment opportunities for the youth and enhance food production.
According to the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA), the Scheme produces an average of 4,400 tonnes of rice annually across two cropping seasons on approximately 550 hectares of cultivated land. The facility supports more than 1,200 rice farmers in over 23 communities, including Avalavi, Afife, Klenormadi and the Weta enclave, while indirectly benefiting over 10,000 people.
However, the once-thriving irrigation project is now facing serious challenges. Years of deterioration and inadequate maintenance have left many irrigation canals choked and unable to effectively drain excess water during heavy rainfall. The situation has been compounded by the absence of a functional control system for the dam, which holds an estimated 31 million cubic metres of water, exposing downstream communities to potential flooding disasters.
Beyond the destruction of rice farms, the torrential rains have severely damaged infrastructure within the scheme. The main feeder road linking all eleven sections of the irrigation project has been cut off at three separate locations in Sections Two, Four and Seven, The farmers say the damaged roads have compounded their challenges, preventing easy access to farms and hampering efforts to assess the extent of the destruction caused by the floods.
Speaking to journalists at Weta, spokesperson for the affected farmers, Mr. Gideon Kokroko, described the situation as devastating and called on the government to urgently rehabilitate the irrigation scheme. “We have lost almost everything. All our investments have gone down the drain. This flooding has become a perennial problem, but this year’s destruction is the worst we have witnessed since the dam was constructed,” he lamented.
Mr. Kokroko warned that the disaster could have far-reaching implications for food security and agricultural development in the country. “This situation will discourage many people, especially the youth, from venturing into rice farming. Government must urgently rehabilitate the Weta Irrigation Scheme, modernise its operations and restore confidence in rice production,” he said.
He further revealed that the main embankment that protects the farms from floodwaters had collapsed under pressure from the overflowing water, raising fears about the future viability of the Scheme. “If the Weta Irrigation Scheme is not rehabilitated, it may become impossible to continue rice production here. Successive governments have neglected the Scheme for years. The level of deterioration is enormous, and only a complete rehabilitation can solve the problem,” Mr. Kokroko stressed.
The farmers’ concerns come despite previous assurances by authorities to rehabilitate the facility. In June 2023, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA), Mr. Richard Oppong-Boateng, announced during a two-day working visit to the scheme that the World Bank was prepared to support the rehabilitation of the Weta Irrigation Scheme. The intervention, he explained, was expected to enhance rice and vegetable production in the area.
According to him, the rehabilitation project was to be implemented under the 150-million-dollar West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (WAFSRP), a World Bank-funded initiative to be supervised by the technical team of GIDA, an agency under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Similar assurances were subsequently given by the Member of Parliament for Ketu North, Hon. Eric Edem Agbana, during visits to the scheme and in media engagements. However, no major rehabilitation works have been carried out, a development farmers believe has contributed significantly to the current crisis.
One of the affected farmers, Miss Rebecca Nukporfe, whose rice farm is located at Section Three of the Weta Irrigation Scheme, described this year’s devastation as particularly severe due to the significant investments farmers had made in cultivating their fields.
According to her, one of the major challenges confronting the affected farmers is how to repay loans contracted to finance their farming activities. She explained that many farmers secured loans from financial institutions and private lenders at exorbitant interest rates, with some paying as much as 30 percent interest. “The situation is very worrying because most of us invested heavily this season with the hope of getting good yields and making enough profit to support our families and repay our loans. Unfortunately, the floods have destroyed almost everything,” she lamented.
Miss Nukporfe recalled that a similar incident occurred in 2025 when torrential rains flooded Section Ten of the irrigation project, destroying several hectares of rice farms that were almost ready for harvest. She noted that following that disaster, the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Hon. John Dumelo, and the Member of Parliament for Ketu North, Hon. Eric Edem Agbana, visited the affected farmers and assured them of government support through a relief package. However, she expressed disappointment that more than a year after the assurances were given, the farmers had yet to receive any form of assistance. “Up till now, we have not heard anything concerning the promised support. This is worrying and discouraging because many of us are still struggling to recover from last year’s losses,” she stated.
Miss Nukporfe joined other affected farmers in appealing to the government and relevant stakeholders to urgently intervene and provide relief support to cushion them against the devastating impact of the floods. She warned that without immediate assistance, many farming households would find it difficult to meet their basic needs, including paying school fees and providing adequate care for their children.
Meanwhile, investigations conducted by this news team revealed that the situation is not unique to farmers under the Weta Irrigation Scheme. Hundreds of rice farmers in communities around Akatsi and Tadzewu have also suffered substantial losses following the recent torrential rains.
Large acreages of rice farms in the affected communities have been submerged by floodwaters, resulting in the destruction of crops worth several thousands of Ghana cedis and raising fears of significant economic hardship among farming households in the area. The affected farmers are therefore calling on the government, disaster management agencies and development partners to provide immediate relief and support measures to help them recover from the losses and sustain food production in the region.
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