Irrigation Water Management Practices in Upper West Region of Ghana: Prospects, Challenges and Mitigation Measures

Water is vital for agricultural production especially in arid areas like the Upper West Region (UWR) in Ghana. The management of water resources for irrigation is therefore paramount. Irrigation Water Management practices (IWM) and their potential for boosting agricultural productivity and food security in UWR are examined in this paper with focus on three purposively sampled irrigation schemes at Sankana, Busa and Yelayiri. Thirty sampled members of Water User Associations (WUAs) and leaders from each of the schemes were interviewed for their views on IWM practices and challenges. Additionally, 10 agricultural experts also provided their views. The quantitative data were analysed with SPSS whiles the qualitative information was subjected to content and discourse analyses. Crosstab correlation helped to determine the relationship between WUAs/farmers’ IWM practices and the performance of the schemes whiles pairwise ranking helped to reveal the severity of IWM challenges and appropriate measures recommended for fixing them.