Work on the new water reservoir in the town of Natchibore, located in the Kara region of Togo, has recently been completed. The infrastructure will be used to supply water to more than 300,000 people, particularly small-scale producers.
Part of the water used to irrigate the plantations in Natchibore, located in Togo’s Kara region, will now come from a new water reservoir, which has recently been commissioned by the Togolese authorities. The facility will serve more than 300,000 inhabitants of the Natchibore locality, including small-scale producers, who will thus be able to extend their area of operation.
The Natchibore water reservoir will enable local producers to store water (rainwater, etc.) when it is available. This water will then be used to meet the water needs of agricultural production. The construction of the facility required an overall investment of about 65 billion CFA francs, the equivalent of about 100 million euros, of which nearly 77% was provided by the State. The rest was provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), partners in the project.
The new water reservoir in the Kara region is one of the 10 water reservoirs that will be built for the Agricultural Processing Centres (CTA), as part of the Togolese Agropoles. Their objective: to develop agricultural value chains and expand production in the sector.
The development of the Agropole of Kara is one of the eight flagship projects identified by the National Development Plan (PND). In April 2019, the region experienced significant water stress due to drought, undermining the security of the agricultural sector. Water scarcity has also had a considerable impact on the lives of the population.
To improve access to drinking water in particular, the Togolese Water Company (TDE) launched a project in 2019 to strengthen drinking water production in Kara. Water towers equipped with modular reservoirs are currently under construction in eight localities in the region. These are Niamtougou, Baga, Défalé, Kanté, Kara, Kémérida, Bassar and Guérin-Kouka. The modular water towers will be used for the storage and distribution of drinking water. The water towers have a storage capacity ranging from 50 to 300 m³ and have a lifespan of more than 25 years. The cost of the project to strengthen drinking water production in Kara is estimated at around 1 billion CFA francs (over 1.5 million euros).
Inès Magoum
