Tono Dam

Tono Dam is one of the largest agricultural dams in western Africa, located in Kassena-Nankana District of Upper East Region, northern Ghana. The 2km long dam irrigates some 2,490 hectares of land.

History

Construction of the dam started in 1975 and completed in 1985 by Taysec, a British engineering company. It was established by Ghana Government to promote the production of food crop all year round by small scale farmer within an organized and managed irrigation scheme. The Irrigation Company of Upper Region was setup to managed the Dam.

Rehabilitation

In 2008, the concrete slabs in the main gravity canal of the dam was rehabilitated. The Ghana Government under The Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project secure funding from World Bank and USAID to rehabilitate the Dam.

Impact

The dam serve about seven communities, it ability to provide water for irrigation all year round have increase the cultivating of rice, soya bean, and tomato. This have improve the livelihoods of local farmers. The dam have forms a lake with a notable bird habitat.

Disease

The condition of the dam makes it ideals for the breeding of the schistosomiasis parasite. This parasite invades the body through the skin and resides in the intestinal tract or walls of the bladder. It can cause painful bleeding and sterility, if left untreated.