The country is expected to have a longer dry season this year as one of the manifestations of the ensuing El Nino weather patterns.
The EL Nino is a cycle of long warm and cold temperatures, as measured by sea surface temperature, SST, of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean. El Niño is accompanied by high air pressure in the western Pacific and low air pressure in the eastern Pacific.
According to the GAWU, government must prioritize the provision of irrigation farms to forestall the effects of the poor rainfall patterns.
Speaking to Accra-based Citi FM, Chief Executive Secretary of GAWU, Edward Karuwa said,
“We have all been aware that depending on nature, to a large extent, could be disadvantageous, and that’s why efforts are put into controlling the vagaries of the weather. So irrigation is one way. We ought to have done massive irrigation development in the past which would have alleviated the problem today”
Mr. Karuwa therefore charged government to intensify efforts to provide adequate irrigation dams for all major farming areas in order to de-emphasize the dependence on natural rainfall patterns.
Already, Ghanaians are feeling the pinch of a shortage in some foodstuffs like tomatoes, plantains and cassava, pushing the prices of these foods to increase.
Traders are also being forced to import from neighbouring Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.