Mr Kwabena Darko, a fish farmer in the Ada-East District who lost items worth over GHs480.000 in the wake of the 2023 spillage of the Akosombo Dam, has appealed for support from the government to help re-establish him.
Mr. Darko noted that apart from losing all his personal effects, the spillage also damaged eight fish cages, feeds, and fishes leading to the loss of his livelihood.
Making the appeal during a stakeholder engagement held on precautionary spilling by the Volta River Authority (VRA) at the Ada-East District Assembly, he indicated that until the 2023 spillage, he was into the production of fingerlings, reared catfish, and different species of tilapia, and trained others on fish-farming.
He said he had to lay off his workers due to the spillage, including a 96-year-old man who used to teach them how to sew nets.
“Since the business collapsed, all the workers are now home; they have lost hope; they have family.”
Mr Darko mentioned that he had invested his life savings in the fish farm and was now struggling to bounce back and appealed to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Government to intervene.
He also lamented the continuous sale of Ada lands to hoteliers, which had become a threat to the development of farming activities in the district, adding that the youth of the area were ready to work but needed to be supported to achieve that goal.
Mr Ebenezer Teye Nartey, the Ada East NADMO Director, said all the affected farmers had been identified and their names sent to the organisation’s head office, adding that the victims would be engaged in due time.
GNA
LS/ LKA/LAA
21 July 2024
Caption:TM074 Farmer Spillage Pic 1
