By Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo
A solar-powered mechanized water farm has been commissioned at Suke in the Lambussie District of the Upper West Region. The facility was provided to the community through the instrumentality of an NGO, Capacity Enhancement and Community Support (CAPECS), in partnership with UNDP Ghana and the governments and people of Denmark and Luxembourg. The initiative, which is under a project known as “Boosting Women’s Economic Resilience and Inclusion in Decision Making and Peacebuilding,” has 105 women beneficiaries drawn from Suke.
Commissioning the project, the Upper West Regional Minister, Charles Lwanga Pouzuing, reiterated what he termed “government’s enduring commitment to grassroots development and inclusive economic transformation.”
He commended CAPECS and its partners, particularly UNDP Ghana, for the timely intervention. “This project, situated in the very heart of our district, speaks not only to the needs of the Suke community, but to the greater aspiration of empowering women, fostering resilience, and building sustainable livelihoods,” Mr. Pouzuing observed. “This is development in action, and it is commendable,” he added.
Mr. Pouzuing said: “The project we are commissioning today is more than just infrastructure. It is a symbol of renewed hope, of strategic collaboration, and of shared responsibility. In a region historically plagued by challenges of water access and low agricultural productivity, particularly for vulnerable women, this mechanized water farm, powered by renewable energy, is an innovative and climate-smart response to the real needs of our people.”
“Through this initiative, 105 women in Suke are not only being equipped with improved agricultural tools, but they are being linked to finance, market access, and critical business support services. This is how we build resilience. This is how we transform communities,” the Regional Minister stated.
The Executive Director of Capacity Enhancement and Community Support (CAPECS), Abu Dokuwie Alhassan, announced that as part of the project, a vigorous process of identifying 105 vulnerable women was kick-started utilizing a “most inclusive approach” to select the beneficiaries.
He noted that another layer of preparing the women was to let them form Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) as conduits for learning how to save money and strengthen cohesion among themselves, enabling them to identify common problems and work together to solve them.
Mr. Alhassan pointed out that the most exciting aspect of the project is that women can farm all year round without worrying about rainfall. “They have access to adequate water which they can use to water their beds whether rain or shine,” he told the gathering. Mr. Alhassan indicated that “the initiative is a testament of what effective partnership and collaboration can do”, saying, above all, the women have been trained to maximize the gains of their ventures.
Organic fertilizer packages were also presented to the women to help them increase their yields, in addition to improved crop varieties.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Lambussie, Ireneous Naawulle Basinghie, said the inauguration of the facility was not only historic but also deeply symbolic of the inclusive and forward-looking development agenda being pursued for the Lambussie District. The DCE continued that the intervention aligned perfectly with the vision of the Member of Parliament for the area, Professor Titus Beyuo, to industrialise agriculture in the district “through the promotion of solar-powered irrigation systems, a timely initiative in the face of today’s changing climate”.
Mr. Basinghie indicated that the project is in tandem with President John Dramani Mahama’s flagship FEED GHANA Programme, which seeks to elevate agriculture via all-year-round farming as a means to boost export-oriented initiatives and transform local products into significant sources of foreign exchange.
The Chief of Suke, Kuoro Dakui Yiriminoh Zimi, described the intervention as a novelty in the Lambussie District and the Upper West Region as a whole and said, “We the recipients and the beneficiaries are extremely overjoyed for this support and investment.”
“In my career as an agriculturist for 34 years, I have been advocating for and praying to see this facility in Suke.” “Therefore, the establishment of this solar-powered mechanized water farm together with other support packages for the people of Suke is a clear demonstration that CAPECS and its partners are here to ensure integral development of the community,” Kuoro Zimi noted.
The Chief gave an assurance that the Suke community will dutifully rally round to carry out all routine maintenance on the facility to sustain the project. Kuoro Zimi was extremely grateful to CAPECS and its collaborators for choosing Suke for the project.
The Lambussie District Director of Agriculture, Nathaniel Nambie, said that last year over seven thousand women lost their livelihoods to drought and added that the intervention by CAPECS is not only a novelty but a game-changer. Mr. Nambie assured that the Department of Agriculture will give all the needed technical support towards the project for it to achieve its ultimate objectives.
The Upper West Regional Director of Gender, Madam Charity Batuure, observed that the project will ensure household food security and boost nutrition at the home level, as well as lead to a reduction of unpaid care burden on women. She appealed to the Regional Minister to help find partners for the Suke community to revive a shea butter processing initiative which was once vibrant in Suke, to empower women economically.
Programme Analyst, Peace and Governance of UNDP Ghana, Ms. Melody Azinim, stressed the necessity for women and young people to be involved in peacebuilding and decision-making processes to engender inclusivity in the development process.
One of the beneficiaries, Madam Abibatu Basing-ere, on behalf of the women, thanked all stakeholders for implementing the project at Suke and said all the beneficiaries will do all within their power to make it a model of success for others to emulate.
