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More than 21 farming communities bordering the evergreen Kakum forest reserve in the Assin South District of the Central Region have had their farms destroyed by elephants.

The rampaging elephants destroyed crops and foodstuffs including cocoa, cocoyam, yam, cassava, plantain and watermelon.

They also uprooted and slanted plantains, pawpaw, maize and cocoa tree in their attempt to pick their fruits.

Several droppings of their faeces were seen scattered over acres of farms in major affected communities such as Abodweseso, Aboabo Camp, Kwafokrom, Homaho, Serebourkrom and Pillar 19-Tinkorang.

An official of the Game and Wildlife Service confirmed the raid in farms to the Ghana News Agency at Assin Homaho and urged the farmers to adhere to farm protection methods to end the raids.

According to him, the farmers have been trained on "pepper fencing" method, which involved the use of pepper, grease, rope and dirty oil to fence their farms.

Mr Emmanuel Kwesi Andoh, one of the farmers whose farm was raided, described the “pepper fencing” method as good but very expensive to the ordinary farmer.

"It is good but we can't afford it because it cost averagely GH¢ 900 - 1000 for an acre of a cocoa farm to be fenced for every six months. This is too much for us to bear," he said.

Mr Kwabena Blewu, District Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) said he had visited the affected communities to access the extent of destruction.

He described the destruction as extensive and assured the affected farmers of the Organization's support.