FAO Digital Media Hub - GHANA 1969. Volta River land clearance and settlement

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GHANA 1969. Volta River land clearance and settlement

1969 (exact date unknown). Volta River land, Akosombo, Ghana. Workmen engaged in road construction between two of the new resettlement villages.

01/01/1969

UNFAO Source FAO Photo Library

File size 374.22 KB

Unique ID UF12P5P

FAO. Editorial use only. Photo credit must be given.

Background Information

Construction of the Volta River dam at Akosombo created what was claimed to be the world's largest man-made lake. Where some 85,000 people farmed the valleys and hills, there was in 1969 a lake of 3.215 square miles. Hydro-electric power obtained from the dam was of vital importance to Ghana's industrialization but the resettlement of 12 000 farming families presented the government with many problems. Land clearance and housing for 52 resettlement villages built around the lake was carried out mostly by manual labor. Food had to be provided for the previously self-supporting families until their new farms became productive. Commencing in 1964, UN/FAO World Food Programme distributed US$ 7 million worth of foodstuffs, donated by a dozen nations. Some of these foodstuffs were unfamiliar to the people and demonstrations of their most suitable use was given by government home economists.