1200 U. East farmers affected by Bagre Dam spillage
More than 650 hectares of farmland in the Bawku West District in the Upper East Region is reported to have been submerged as a result of the spillage from the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso.
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About 1,200 farmers in the district have also had their farmlands and crops destroyed by the excess water from the spillage.
This came out after preliminary assessment of the extent of damage undertaken by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in the area.
The Bawku West District Coordinator of NADMO, Moses Aduk-Pam, who made this known to the Daily Graphic, stated that his outfit was carrying out further assessment of the situation.
He mentioned some of the crops destroyed as maize, sorghum, millet and rice.
He indicated that 25 communities, including Zongoyire,Sakpare, Gozongo and Galaka, were affected by the floods.
Victim
A farmer at Yorigo, a community in the district, Amoah Abugre, described the situation as "very devastating".
"We are hot right now because even food to eat is difficult. We have been told not to risk going into the flooded farms, as we may lose our lives," he lamented.
According to him, his eight acres of maize, four acres of rice and three acres of watermelon had all been destroyed.
Warning
Meanwhile, NADMO officials in the Upper East Region have warned farmers in the Talensi, Bawku West and Binduri districts where the White Volta passes not to go to their farms, since it is not safe.
The Burkina Faso authorities released information on the Bagre Dam spillage last Monday.