Dawhenya (G/A), Aug. 20, – The Vice President, Professor John Atta Mills, today visited the Dawhenya Irrigation project and stressed the need for the farmers to diversify into other crops. He described as disheartening the cultivation of only 43 hectares out of the 200 hectares of irrigated land available to the Dawhenya Co-operative Food Farming Society. Professor Mills said since the farmers claim their rice is not rpt not competitive on the market, they should move into the propagation of high value crops such as vegetables to make full use of the irrigation facilities. The cooperative hopes to put an additional 41 hectares under rice cultivation before the end of this month. The irrigation project, which started as a piggery in 1959, was revamped in the 1970’s and again in 1992. It has 400 hectares of agricultural land that can be put under cultivation. The Vice President told members of the cooperative society during the two-and-a-half hour visit that government intends putting up more irrigation facilities to boost food production. However, he said, ”let’s make good use of what we have before we look for funds to put up more irrigation projects.” Some 205 members of the society farm on the 200 hectares of irrigable land, with some having less than a hectare. Prof. Mills said such small-holdings make farming unprofitable. He suggested that these should be re-arranged to encourage those who can farm more lands than have been allocated to them to acquire more plots. Reacting to a statement by an executive of the cooperative that most farmers did not rpt not cultivate their plots because of the low water level in the dam, Prof. Mills said this is not acceptable. He said so much has been spent on the project that government cannot afford to have the ”luxury for people to think whether to farm or not.” The Vice President said it is because of this lukewarm attitude to agriculture that Dawhenya, which used to be a point for excursions by various groups, has today lost its attraction to many.
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