North- East Region turns to solar-powered water system to tackle climate change

The North-East Regional Coordinating Council is promoting solar-powered water systems and dry-season farming to help communities adapt to climate change as rivers dry up and traditional irrigation sources become increasingly unreliable.

The initiative aims to improve households' and public institutions' access to water while supporting year-round farming through solar-powered groundwater extraction.

Mr Ibrahim Tia, the North-East Regional Minister, told the Ghana News Agency that climate change was increasingly affecting water availability and making farming along river bodies less sustainable, requiring communities to explore alternative water sources.

“We cannot rely on our river bodies. Climate change is fast catching up with us, and the only way is to explore other opportunities available for our activities,” he said.

He said the Council was working with district assemblies and development partners to extend access to water to communities, schools and other public facilities.

The Minister said solar-powered water systems offer a more sustainable option because they use sunlight, a readily available resource, to pump groundwater without the recurring fuel costs of conventional pumping systems.

Mr Tia said communities would mainly be responsible for the relatively low maintenance costs of the systems.

The Minister said the Council was also pursuing plans to expand dry-season farming by drilling boreholes on suitable farmlands and equipping them with solar-powered pumping systems to support irrigation throughout the year.

He said the approach would reduce farmers’ dependence on rivers, which were increasingly drying up, and allow them to cultivate fertile lands that could otherwise remain underused during the dry season.

The initiative is expected to create additional opportunities for farmers to increase production and improve their incomes while strengthening the region’s capacity to cope with changing rainfall patterns.

Mr Tia noted preparatory work was underway to establish facilities in each district to support the programme, with some infrastructure expected to be completed by the end of November.

The initiative forms part of broader efforts to strengthen local resilience to climate change through investments in water infrastructure, renewable energy and climate-smart agriculture.

The region relies heavily on rain-fed subsistence farming and is experiencing shorter rainy seasons, delayed rains, and dry spells that lead to lower crop yields, massive crop failures, and significant post-harvest losses.

It is also witnessing prolonged dry seasons and rising temperatures that dry up water bodies, lower water tables, and degrade topsoil.

Seasonal hunger peaks sharply during lean periods (such as May–June) because households cannot store or produce enough food year-round.

Declining farm incomes narrow economic options, pushing young people to migrate south and increasing competition for scarce natural resources—which can fuel local farmer-herder tensions.