4 Mrs Gordana Kranjac-Berisavljeric, a senior lecturer at the University of Development Studies, has suggested the need to make irrigation facilities more accessible to small-holder farmers to increase production. She said existing facilities for irrigation farming provided by the ministry of food and agriculture are not enough to meet farmers demand. Speaking to GRi in Tamale today, Mrs Kranjac-Berisavljeric who teaches agricultural mechanisation and irrigation technology, cited three irrigation dams in the Northern region at Bontanga, Golonga and Libga in the Savelugu-Nanton and Tolon-Kumbungu districts and said more are needed to cater for the needs of farmers in other areas of the region. The lecturer, however, admitted that lack of ground water in parts of the region also hampers the creation of more dams. Mrs Kranjac-Berisavljeric suggested that more of the irrigation facilities can be spread to areas where the water table is suitable for such ventures. She stressed the need to intensify agricultural extension programmes to farmers in the area of technical training, pest management and land conservation practices.
