Mango farmers and representatives of some Fulani nomads in Akuse in the Lower Manya Krobo district of the Eastern region have agreed to live in peace. This came up during a cordial face to face meeting between the Lower Manya Mango Farmers Association and the Fulani nomads who are reportedly running down farmlands in some parts of the district.
The meeting which was called by the mango farmers on Thursday, was intended to engage Fulani herdsmen who have invaded the district with perhaps the mango farmers being the worst affected and to find a lasting solution to problem problem. This is because it had the potential of escalating if prompt steps were not taken to address it.
“I have lost 10 out of my 18 acres of mango farms to the activities of the Fulani herdsmen and their cattle. We have no idea where they are suddenly flocking in from,” Mr. Amanor who is president of the mango farmers Association complained bitterly to this reporter before the meeting.
But Mr. Amanor isn’t the only victim here; several of his colleagues have also had their farmlands run over by the Fulanis.
Though the herdsmen partly agreed with the accusations of destructions of farmlands, they nevertheless maintained that the destruction could not be entirely attributed to them. They argued that they were not the only cattle farmers in that enclave and that other herdsmen from nearby communities could equally be responsible for the destructions.
They maintained that they had lived peacefully with their surrounding communities for the past eighteen years and did not want to ruin that relationship.
To them, they felt uncomfortable with bad press concerning Fulani activities in other parts of the country and wondered why every Fulani should be tagged with that negativity.
The mango farmers on the other hand argued that though the problem had long been with them, it wasn’t on this large scale until recently. To them, the poor climate change with the resultant low rainfall means grasslands are no longer available for the cattle of the herdsmen, forcing them to lead their animals in search of food and leaving the destructions in their tracks.
Asked why they did not involve the security agencies in this meeting, Mr. Amanor said they did not want to appear to be to be using intimidating tactics in their resolve to get their message across. However, he noted that the security forces as well as the department of Agriculture in the district were duly aware of their meeting and the progress reported to these outfits.
The Fulani versus farmers confrontation has been a security threat in many parts of the country leaving in its wake several deadly clashes and destructions to property.
Source: ritefmonline.org
