Profitability and Water Productivity of Small Scale Irrigation Schemes in Northern Ghana

The Savelugu-Nanton District of Northern Ghana is a beneficiary of irrigation projects mostly on small scale basis schemes. Poor data situation due to inadequate appraisal of these schemes results in difficulty to track their progress and impacts, which threatens their sustainability. This study was conducted to assess the profitability and productivity of the Libga and Bunglung small scale irrigation schemes in the District between 2013 and 2015. Sixty households were selected using random sampling techniques. Production data, costs, yield and soil data were gathered using structured questionnaires and field measurements. Data on traditional rainfed systems were gathered from secondary information. The results indicated that yields of rice were greater in Bunglung than in Libga scheme but both schemes had greater yields than rainfed systems, resulting in greater profits under irrigation. However, yields of pepper were greater in Libga than in Bunglung. Crop water productivity (CWP) in terms of harvested weight of rice was 0.50 and 0.58 kilogram per cubic meter in Libga and Bunglung respectively while CWPs in terms of gross value of harvested rice were 0.38 and 0.41 Ghana cedis per cubic meter respectively. For pepper, the CWPs were 0.74 and 0.64 kilogram per cubic meter in terms of crop weight in Libga and Bunglung respectively while CWPs in terms of gross value were 1.23 and 1.07 Ghana cedis per cubic meter respectively. Irrigation improved farmers’ incomes, however, pepper production was more profitable than rice production at both schemes. More investments by farmers are important to achieving maximum yields.