Farming is not an alternative to prevent galamsey - Ayariga

Farming is not alternative livelihood to prevent illegal and small scale miners from their illicit activities, according to a former Minister of Environment Science, Technology and Innovation, Hon. Mahama Ayariga.

“We talk of farming as an alternative livelihood, who said they do not know they could farm? …they know there are farms and they could farm but will the amount they generate from farming be the same like what they are getting from galamsey”, the lawmaker asked.

” They know the government has provided fertilizer subsidies and they could farm but the illegal miners feel that this is not profitable for them especially the youth”, he observed.

According to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmaker for Bawku Central Constituency, he once in a working visit then as minister observed that people in high places involved themselves in illegal mining.

“Whenever you find out there is gold somewhere sometimes the people at the agencies for licensing other people to mine end up having arrangements contrary to the mining laws”, Hon. Mahama Ayariga alleged.

This, according to him, makes it difficult for people to obtain mining licenses to do legal mining despite the ban by Ministry of Land and Natural Resources.

The private legal practitioner, therefore, opined the use of police/military taskforce to stop galamsey in the country is unnecessary suggestion easy mode of obtaining licensing will rather do the trick.