By Opesika Tetteh Puplampu
Tsumkpo (Shai Osudoku), Aug. 28, GNA – More than 50 acres of farmland cultivated with maize, groundnuts, pepper and cassava have reportedly been destroyed at Tsumkpo in the Shai Osudoku District following sand-winning activities.
Affected farmers said the activities had destroyed standing crops, degraded farmland and threatened their livelihoods, while leaving deep excavations close to farms and homes.
Mr Samuel Kateinor, a 92-year-old farmer, said he had farmed and reared animals in the area for decades but had never witnessed destruction of farmland on such a scale.
“We farm here and also rear animals. We’ve been here for ages, but the people in Tokpo have given out the land to these companies without our knowledge,” he said.
He said operators initially told him they needed sand for a project but later moved into cultivated areas despite his suggestion that they obtain sand from a dried-up dam.
Mr Godwin Adjaotor, a pastor and farmer, said portions of his three-acre farm were destroyed before he could complete harvesting.
“They destroyed parts of the farm. They used an excavator to destroy my farm. They came in the night to destroy it, and we are starving now,” he said.
Mr Tetteh Doku, another farmer, said residents were increasingly concerned about the activities and appealed for urgent intervention.
Mr Israel Kweku Animle, Assembly Member for the area, confirmed that he had visited the affected farms following complaints from residents.
He said some operators were taken to the Shai Osudoku District Assembly, where their permits were examined, and it was established that although they had permits for sand-winning, the permits covered a different location and had expired.
He said the Assembly subsequently sanctioned the operators and issued another permit, while he also engaged people at Tokpo over the activities.
Mr Animle said the operators claimed that competing factions were laying ownership claims to the land and that the sand-winning was intended to establish their rights.
He expressed concern about the destruction of farms and its impact on residents.
Mr Ignatius Godfred Dordoe, District Chief Executive for Shai Osudoku, however, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the Assembly had not granted any company or individual permission to undertake sand-winning in the affected area.
Mr Dordoe said a Chinese company that initially entered the area was stopped from operating, adding that another company, identified as Ali Ali, later applied for permission but was directed to obtain a permit from the Minerals Commission.
“We denied them. We asked them to go for the permit from the Minerals Commission first, but they never came back,” he said.
The conflicting accounts over permits have raised concerns about the circumstances under which the sand-winning activities commenced.
Residents have appealed to the authorities to halt further destruction of farmland and investigate the activities, including competing ownership claims and the status of permits.
They said continued destruction could deprive the predominantly farming community of its main source of food and income and leave the land unsuitable for agriculture.
The farmers also called for stronger enforcement of regulations governing sand-winning and land use to prevent further degradation of the area.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo/Audrey Dekalu
Reporter: Opesika Tetteh Puplampu