Farmers at Afienya-Kanna Dam in the Shai-Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region have bemoaned the heinous actions exhibited by some gun-wielding land-guards who on Friday January 25, 2019 invaded the community, and absolutely destroyed their pipelines and cash crops, comprising pepper, okra, onion, cassava, tomato, mango plantations and other farm produce.
The move, according to the affected farmers, was carried out on the direct orders of some self acclaimed owners of the land from the Doryumu Community.
The affected farmers, numbering about hundred and twenty (120) who are predominantly natives of Ningo, Prampram, Mepe, Battor, Adidome, Adda, Sege and Doryumu were embittered by the action of the hired land guards after many years of toiling to cultivate the farms.
They subsequently called on the government to intervene in the matter, since the action of the land guards and people of Doryumu community have propensity to affect President Nana Akufo-Addo’s flagship programme of Planting for Food and Jobs.
The destroyed farmlands, which are between Afienya and Michael Camp barracks off the Tema-Akosombo highway, GO gathered, were about 1000 acres.
This paper gathered that the large farm land was acquired by the government from the people of Prampram Traditional Area but were rented by the chiefs and elders of Prampram to the farmer some 50 years ago to farm on them.
Unfortunately, the people of Doryumu are now litigating the people of Prampram over the said farm lands hence their current action to engage the services of the land guards to destroy the crops on the lands in order to sack the farmers to pave way for them to have access the lands.
The affected farmers are bracing up against the people of Doryumu for their action of using the land guards to do what they have described as the “rampant destruction” of farm crops at their expenses.
The farmers have vowed to fiercely resist any attempt by the people of Doryumu to use the land guards to continue to destroy their farm crops in the area.
“We now understand why President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has decided to halt the activities of land guards,” one farmer stated, adding that “we are shocked at the level of “destruction” they are doing to our farm crops”.
<<Print>>