Chiefs appeal to Akufo-Addo to allocate part of forest reserve for farming

Correspondence from Bono Region:

The Acting President and Kyidomhene of Nkomi Traditional Area in the Sene East District of the Bono East Region, Nana Osore Krunku III, has appealed to the government to allocate portions of the Digya National Park to the people.

Speaking on behalf of the Traditional Council at Kajeji, Nana Osore Krunku III revealed they want the government to forfeit part of the forest reserve for the people to be used as farmlands.

According to him, the people in the area who had the misfortune of being resettled in the 1960s as a result of the Volta have had vast lands in the area being used as a forest reserve.

He revealed that with an increase in population, it has become very difficult for the people who are predominantly farmers to have enough land to farm on.

Nana Osore Krunku III made the appeal when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy call on him during day one of his two-day tour of the Bono East region.

“Nana you know this area is a resettlement area. We were resettled in the 1960s as a result of the Volta Lake. A large portion of our lands too have been used as National Park. Nana, our numbers have increased and with the majority of the people being farmers, we want the government to cede some acres of the reserve so that the people can farm on it.”

President Akufo-Addo assured the chiefs and people that the request will be looked into by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

The Digya National Park was gazetted in 1971 and covers an area of 3,478 km2 of undulating terrain with sandstone inselbergs. It is the second-largest national park and the oldest protected area in Ghana. Created in 1900, it is located in the Sene East District.