North Dayi District – North Dayi District Assembly

Establishment and Legal Framework

The North Dayi District is located in the Volta Region of Ghana and it was established by the Legislative Instrument LI 2076 of 2012. The office of the North Dayi District Assembly is located in Anfoega. The District is about 70km away from Ho where the Office of the Volta Regional Minister is located and 250Km away from Accra, the seat of Government.

The District lies within latitudes 6⁰20’N and 7⁰05’N, and Longitude 0⁰17’E. It shares boundaries with Kpando Municipal to the North, South Dayi District to the south, and Afadzato South District to the East and the Volta Lake to the west. The Lake stretches over 80km of the coastal line, demarcates the Western boundary.

The District covers a total land area of 462.8 square kilometers representing 2.2% of the Volta Region with almost 30% of the land being covered by the Volta Lake. The District is rural and has over sixty (60) settlements. The District is basically agrarian with the sector providing jobs to a large section of the population and contributing significantly to the Local Economy. Economically active communities in the District are Anfoega and Vakpo.

Climate of the District

The District falls within the tropical equatorial zone, it is generally influenced by the South West Monsoons winds from the South Atlantic Ocean and the dry Harmattan winds from the Sahara. The District is characterized by double-maxima rainfall pattern with average annual rainfall ranging from 900mm to 1,300mm. The rainfall pattern support the cultivation of variety of crops including cash crops throughout the year. Eg. Cocoa, coffee etc.

The major raining season occurs from mid-April to early July and the minor from September to November. The District normally experience variations in the seasons which affect agricultural activities in the District.

The mean annual temperature is about 27⁰Celsius^,whereas the daily mean ranges from, 22⁰ to 33⁰Celsius. The months of February and March are characterized usually with hot temperatures while July and August are of relatively cold.

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Vegetation of the District

VEGETATION OF THE DISTRICT.

The vegetation of the District is a mix of guinea savannah woodland and semi-deciduous forest. The savannah woodlands consist of grass with scattered trees like acacia, bamboo and baobabs. These dots the River Dayi Basin. The semi-deciduous forests are found on the slopes of the Akwapim –Togo –Attakora ranges with many tree species which are also found in high forest zone, such as Antiaris toxicaria chechen, milicia excels (Odum) and Oil palm.

The situation described above is to a large extend has been destroyed. There is a gross misconduct on the part of citizens as regards the vegetation. Primarily Human Activities that destroy the vegetation as pertain in the District are: inappropriate farming practices, use of unauthorized chemicals, misapplication of chemicals, excessive logging and lumbering, charcoal burning, Development of settlement, construction of major infrastructure etc.

The activities above cause damages to the vegetation. Some of the issues are: Lost of forest cover, Biodiversity loss, Loss of organic materials, loss of soil fertility, erosion, Climate change and variability, loss of water resources, air pollution etc. All these damages have detrimental effects on human existence.

In an attempt to conserve the environment and protect the vegetative cover, the Forestry Commission under the FORUM project developed some forest reserves in the District. These are the Awate and Tsrukpe forest reserves, Wusuta, Aveme Sabadu, Vakpo, Botoku and Tsoxor forest reserves. Citizens have started destroying the forest reserves.

Drainage

The Volta Lake and the River Dayi are the major water bodies that drain the district. There are other numerous streams and rivulets that are found throughout the district. These rivers and streams are more or less perennial.

The Volta Lake is the largest water resource in the district. It runs along the whole of the western corridor with big potential for irrigation, aqua-culture and fishing. The District relies on the Lake for fish both for local consumption and export to towns within the country. The River Dayi is the second largest water resource in the District, and its basin provides a prime farming land for the cultivation of a variety of food crop and vegetables. The presence of these water bodies is a great potential for supporting economic activities which can generate employment opportunities for the youth.

The Volta Lake and river Dayi are critical resources in the District that can Support commercial agriculture, small and medium size Irrigation schemes, vegetable cultivation, water transport, Commercial fish farming, Potable water schemes, tourism and eco-tourism etc.

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TOPOGRAPHY

The obvious physical features of the District are the Akwapim-Togo-Atakora ranges which is at the eastern corridor between Ho and Kpando Districts. The District is dotted with scattered hills and ranges of varied length and height resulting in an undulating feature of the District. The major hills are around Anfoega, Awate, Botoku and Wusuta. The highest point in the District is about 1,250 ft. and is located along the Volta Lake around Awate and Botoku. The hilly nature of the District predispose the District to poverty and also a potential for development. The presence of the hills is the reason for massive erosion in the District affecting settlement development, The Mountains have also covered several acres of land making arable land very scares hence low productivity.

It is common for people to think that mountain contains mineral resources, even though no prospective study have been conducted but residence hold the view that they (mountains) contains some essential minerals. The mountains are currently the mining point of kaolin on small scale. Kaolin is a critical raw material in the construction industry, it is used for paint and other materials. Commercial mining will promote economic growth and development. The mountains also contains rocks that can aid the construction industry and tourism development.

On agriculture, farm lands are relatively uncommon due to the presence of the mountains by implication the department of Agriculture should adopt best farming practices to increase productivity. Eg. The use of good farming techniques, improve seeds, use of local manures to sustain the nutrients in the soil.

GEOLOGY AND MINERALS

The District is generally underlain by Buem Volcanic rocks stretching through to Jasikan and Kadjebi Districts. The implication of this type of rock is that it supports surface supplies of underground water and the surface supplies are fairly good while prospects for boreholes ranges from fair to good. The major soil types developed from this parent rock in the District are the Savannah Ochrosols (reddish, lightly acid; more nutrient) “Oxysol” (heavily drained; yellowish; less nutrient and ground water laterites. This is characterized by sandy loam type of soil with local adaptation. Along the lake and the River Dayi, the alluvial silt loams predominate. The terrain is mostly steep and sometimes gentle resulting in difficulty to access. Inventories made to classify soils according to their general and chemical characteristics indicate that the soils in the District are of low fertility and low moisture holding capacity which has serious implication for agricultural sub-sector. Irrigation schemes will support agricultural development in the District.

The District is relatively endowed with limited mineral deposits of economic importance. There are large deposits of Kaolin at Anfoega Agatanyigbe, Anfoega Bume and Botoku with different colour suitable for molding of bricks, tiles, paint etc. for the construction industry. North Dayi District Assembly can establish cottage industry in pottery and ceramics taking advantage of the mineral deposit by extension create jobs.

BIODIVERSITY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND GREEN ECONOMY

The effects of climate change and its vulnerability can be felt across the length and breadth of the District due to its agrarian nature. North Dayi District is home to four (4) forest reserves (Dayi Block forest reserve, West Block forest reserve and others) endowed with several economic trees, fruit and other tree species which serves as home to hundreds of thousands of animals species. Not to talk about these forests serving as shade to the numerous springs, streams and rivers that run the length and breadth of the District.

North Dayi District has witnessed persistent depletion of the forest, bio-diversity, water resources and other aquatic species.

The District is experiencing a destruction of its ecosystem and natural resource base through the following factors;

Destruction of forests through encroachment into forest reserves and exploitation of economic timber species without permit
Annual bush fires
Inappropriate farming practices and deforestation, destruction of vegetation and the ecological systems through cultivation on slopes and on the lands adjoining rivers and streams
Encroachment into and destruction of wildlife sanctuary through uncontrolled hunting and other human activities
Winning of sand, quarrying of stones and gravel for building and road construction
Lack of enough education on the negative effects climate change
Accelerated erosion resulting from removal of vegetative cover around dwellings and open spaces in settlements and absence of properly constructed drainage channels
Non-management of domestic waste i.e. rubbish and human excreta are disposed-off indiscriminately
Little monitoring of the environmental impact of human activities and development projects

The Assembly with support from development partners will implement interventions programmes to mitigate the impacts of this trends in the District