Farmers in parts of the Central Region are desperately seeking protection from illegal sand winners.
Several acres of farmland have been encroached, while the activities of the illegal miners have also caused significant crop losses to farmers.
At Gomoa Adawukwa, the 100-acre land secured by Farmwell Consult for commercial farming has been reduced to 26 acres, according to farm manager Benard Azimbe.
He lamented that the 26 acres of land left are also being encroached on.
“We ploughed this area to cultivate maize, but just the day after, they came to win sand here, and so we couldn’t cultivate the maize. Even as of now, they’re on the other side of our farm and actively winning sand. Unless the government intervenes, we may have to close our operations. Our lives are in danger and our infrastructure, such as irrigation systems, is constantly destroyed by the sand winners.”
In some instances, farmers who resisted the encroachment were intimidated and physically assaulted by the sand winners.
In an interview with Citi News, one farmer said, “I was physically assaulted and my phone was seized. I reported to the police in Winneba, but no action has been taken. They fired gunshots to scare farmers.”
Farmers in the Bawjiase enclave are facing similar challenges. A cassava farmer disclosed to Citi News that crop yield has significantly reduced due to constant sand-winning activities.
They added that they have been left with limited land for cultivation.
Commenting on the development, national secretary of the National Sand, Stone Workers and Tipper Users (NASSWOTU), Tetteh Pinto, suggested a collaboration between the government and the association to form a task force that will clamp down on the illegal sand winners.
“Such acts are mostly conducted by the illegal sand winners. I believe we can deal with them when the government supports us in forming a task force. So that we can protect farm lands and crops,” he noted.
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