Open AccessIrrigation Water Management Practices in Upper West Region of Ghana: Prospects, Challenges and Mitigation Measures
Author(s) -
Naomi Buabemaa Gyekye
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of human ecology/journal of human ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.115
H-Index - 1
eISSN - 2456-6608
pISSN - 0970-9274
DOI - 10.31901/24566608.2021/73.1-3.3306
Subject(s) - irrigation , agriculture , pairwise comparison , productivity , irrigation management , water resource management , arid , business , agricultural productivity , environmental resource management , agricultural economics , geography , environmental science , statistics , mathematics , agronomy , economics , economic growth , biology , ecology , archaeology
Water is vital for agricultural production especially in arid areas like the Upper West Region (UWR) in Ghana. The management of water resources for irrigation is therefore paramount. Irrigation Water Management practices (IWM) and their potential for boosting agricultural productivity and food security in UWR are examined in this paper with focus on three purposively sampled irrigation schemes at Sankana, Busa and Yelayiri. Thirty sampled members of Water User Associations (WUAs) and leaders from each of the schemes were interviewed for their views on IWM practices and challenges. Additionally, 10 agricultural experts also provided their views. The quantitative data were analysed with SPSS whiles the qualitative information was subjected to content and discourse analyses. Crosstab correlation helped to determine the relationship between WUAs/farmers’ IWM practices and the performance of the schemes whiles pairwise ranking helped to reveal the severity of IWM challenges and appropriate measures recommended for fixing them.