Evict Fulani herdsmen as ordered by the court

Farmers in the Asante-Akim North District are demanding the eviction of Fulani herdsmen in the Agogo-Afram Plains area as ordered by a Kumasi High Court.

The court had ruled that the herdsmen should be flushed out by the Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) as far back as the year 2012.

Three years on, this verdict is yet to be enforced to end the destruction of food crops by the nomads

The farmers, who were contributing to discussions at a stakeholders’ forum held at Agogo, said the inaction of the Council had emboldened the Fulani to wreak havoc on crops and forest plantations and terrorize the people with impunity.

The disturbing situation is undermining efforts at replanting the Bandai Hills and Bandai North Forest Reserves and it was against this background that the forum was organized by the Forest Services Division (FSD) of the Forestry Commission to find the way forward.

It was attended by farmers, land owners, chiefs, forest guards, private developers, and some cattle owners.

They could not hide their frustration and insisted that the only option was to throw out the alien herdsmen, if the drive by the FSD to replant the denuded forests was to succeed.

Some private developers, who have acquired concessions to engage in massive teak plantation under the afforestation project, complained of having lost their investment through the activities of the herdsmen.

They also accused some of the farmers of deliberately destroying seedlings with herbicides in order to farm on the land for longer years.

Mr. Alex Oduro Barnie, Ashanti Regional Manager of FSD, called for calm as they sought for a lasting solution to the problem.

He said restoring the degraded reserves was not only in the interest of the forestry workers but everybody and that was why they must work together to make the project a dream come true.