India’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Manish Gupta, has urged the Government of Ghana to harness the high temperatures in the northern parts of the country to invest in solar-powered irrigation systems as a strategy to boost agricultural productivity and strengthen national food security.
The Northern belt, comprising the Savannah, Upper East, Upper West, North East and Northern Regions, continues to face perennial irrigation challenges that undermine crop yields, weaken farmers’ livelihoods, and create ripple effects across Ghana’s food supply chain.
The irrigation deficit has also become politically sensitive, particularly following the failure of the widely discussed Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam project to materialize, leaving expectations diminished among farming communities.
In an exclusive interview with Diplomatic Times journalist Richmond Fordjour Ampofo ahead of the conclusion of his tenure, the High Commissioner expressed optimism that Ghana could deploy solar-powered irrigation solutions, including solar water pumping systems and rooftop solar installations to power irrigation infrastructure in off-grid farming communities.
This offers Ghana an opportunity to revolutionize its farming culture in the northern regions, which are significantly warmer than the southern belt, often recording maximum temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius. Climate trends also show that 2024 was among the warmest years on record globally, underscoring the urgency of climate-resilient agricultural solutions.
“When you travel to the northern plains, I have travelled there quite a few times, it reminds me of the Gangetic plains of India. These areas are full of agricultural potential. But I am always told there are no irrigation facilities. Yet, you have very ideal solutions because your water table is quite high.” he stated while drawing parallels with India’s agrarian geography
He emphasized that Ghana’s relatively high water table in parts of the north makes solar-powered water pumping both technically feasible and scalable.
“You need solar water pumping solutions. Secondly, we can look into rooftop solar because extending grid electricity everywhere is not financially viable. Off-grid solar is a practical alternative,” he added.
India has emerged as a global clean energy leader, with a cumulative installed solar capacity exceeding 140 gigawatts, according to official government data. The country ranks among the top three globally in solar energy deployment, as reported by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and continues to expand its renewable energy portfolio, with nearly half of its installed power capacity derived from non-fossil fuel sources.
As Ghana and India share parallel post-colonial development trajectories, both emerging from British rule, Ghana stands to draw lessons from India’s transition toward low-carbon energy systems. Ghana’s energy sector has in recent years grappled with mounting financial liabilities, threatening the sustainability of power generation and supply. Integrating decentralized solar irrigation systems could reduce operational energy costs, improve efficiency, and ease pressure on the national grid.
The northern belt remains critical to Ghana’s agricultural output, producing key staples such as maize, rice, millet, soybean, groundnut and cowpea. According to Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), approximately 70 percent of farmers in northern Ghana depend primarily on rain-fed agriculture. Meanwhile, data from the Ghana Meteorological Agency indicates that rainfall variability and declining precipitation trends over the past two decades have increased vulnerability to drought conditions. These conditions provides the opportune time for Ghana to leverage solar energy in agriculture.
During the 2024 farming season, MoFA’s Northern Regional Directorate reported that an estimated 460,784 hectares, representing about 60 percent of cultivated land in parts of districts such as Mion, Gushegu, Nanumba North and Savelugu , were adversely affected by erratic rainfall patterns.
The High Commissioner stressed that adopting solar-powered irrigation would not only enhance food production and strengthen food security but also align with the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 2 on Zero Hunger.
The Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) has repeatedly indicated that Ghana’s irrigation potential exceeds 1.9 million hectares, yet only a fraction has been developed. Climate change, declining rainfall, high infrastructure costs, and limited public investment continue to constrain expansion.
As rainfall becomes increasingly unpredictable and dry spells intensify, experts warn that without accelerated irrigation investment, particularly climate-smart, decentralized solutions such as solar pumping, northern Ghana’s agricultural vulnerability could deepen, threatening national food security and rural incomes.
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