President of the Lower Manya Mango Farmers Association, Mr. Edward Amanor, has instituted a special watchdog committee to serve as an eye over the activities of the Fulani herdsmen within the Akuse enclave.
This came up during a crucial meeting between the Association and Fulani herdsmen on Thursday. The meeting which was at the behest of the Mango Farmers Association, was an intended step to peacefully iron out the simmering glowing differences between the farmers and their Fulani friends.
As part of efforts to deal with the problem, the president proposed the formation of a watch-dog committee to strictly monitor and keep watch over farmlands within the area in question and to report any offending cattle farmer to the farmers and the Fulani herdsmen for prompt action to be taken against that person.
According to the proposal, the committee which would be made up of members of the Fulani community would be sustained on a monthly stipend of Gh c 200. This, according to the agreement is to aid their movement to and from the farmlands as well as to serve as an incentive in the delivery of their responsibility.
Both members of the divide readily agreed to this suggestion perhaps with the conviction that it was a right step to deal with the mounting tension while pledging to abide by it.
Asked about how he expected the nomads to monitor themselves and report offending members for action to be taken against their own people, he explained that in the event that if the destructions persists, then that would be a clear evidence that they did not fulfill their part of the bargain and the necessary action taken against the offender.
Similar to developments in some other parts of the country, some farmers within the district have continuously complained about the activities of Fulani nomads which have resulted in the destruction of farmlands.
A visit to some of the affected mango farms by the leadership of the herdsmen and the farmers revealed extensive damage to crops. While most of the young mango crops had been completely destroyed, others were still struggling to survive, obviously being the aftermath of the cattle activities.
Source: ritefmonline.org
