A Survey conducted by the Northern Regional Bureau of The Chronicle has unearthed why most livestock farmers in the northern regions and across the country, who have property (animals) worth billions of cedis in their possession, are still wallowing in abject poverty.
The momentous "life key" to open the gates of success and riches to the poor farmers, The Chronicle learnt, has apparently been kept inside the pockets of the past and present governments.
The "life key" discovered is the creation of a whole ministry for the livestock sector. The government's inability to pay proper attention to the livestock sector under the Agriculture Ministry to address the enormous problems of the farmers, the survey found, has been a major setback to the progress of the sector aside the unfavorable climatic conditions.
The livestock farmers described as 'long overdue,' their expectation and agitation that the government should establish a separate "livestock ministry" to boost livestock production as has been the case in the fishing industry, now the Ministry of Fisheries.
This expectation, as learnt in the course of the survey, has been raised at several public gatherings by some intellectuals, opinion leaders, Non-Governmental Organizations and political leaders, as one of the measures to combat the socio-economic woes of the poor farmers, especially in northern Ghana, who have since time immemorial engaged themselves and invested their time and resources in animal farming.
But all efforts to attract the governments' attention on this issue, according to the farmers, have proved futile.
'The governments, both past and present have just turned deaf ears to us," an opinion leader lamented.
'Our fathers who are the bread winners of the family have doffed out their hearts for animal rearing in order to earn a meaningful income to cater for the family and also help build the nation Ghana but they have not been given the needed attention by the governments. I think that livestock needs a whole ministry, it's too big to be under the Ministry of Agric,' he added.
Though many oppositional gurus, intellectuals and some economic planners have opposed the large number of ministerial positions in the NPP administration, the people this reporter spoke to, deem it necessary for the government to defy those criticisms, create a ministry and appoint a substantive minister for the livestock industry.
'This is another way the government could give the requisite attention to our cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry farms as well as other domestic animals,' a 65-year old cattle farmer and a father of twelve explained.
The farmers believe that it would also be an avenue for creating jobs for the people and increasing revenue mobilization.
The government must carve out the livestock sector from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and give it a separate ministry or at least add it to the fisheries ministry,. taking into cognizance the gigantic size of MOFA.
It is evidently clear that, without the establishment of the proposed ministry for livestock, no amount of compensational package can address the woes and needs of the livestock producers, who have suffered even when the Bolgatanga Meat Factory was in existence.
Reliable source close to the collapsed-Bolgatanga Meat Factory hinted that local livestock farmers, specifically, cattle farmers are not benefiting enough from the factory, since about 80% of cattle used for meat production are imported from outside the country.
Because the livestock industry has been totally neglected and almost put into oblivion, it prevented farmers from accessing credits and loans from the local and international banks. Meanwhile, there are a good number of free and credit supports from the Netherlands government, the World Bank, the European Union Economic Development Fund (EU-EDF), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), which offer free International Livestock Training Courses annually.
So The Chronicle deems it imperative for the Ghana government to establish the Livestock Ministry to enable the country and the farmers to benefit from the funds.
Information gathered by this reporter from MOFA database in the Northern Region, indicates that the livestock sector has been totally neglected and all attention is centered on the crops sector.
It was uncovered that national figures on livestock production, particularly on cattle, had remained stagnant around 1.2 million, since 1980.
Though the government's support through the Agric Ministry is not enough, about 98% of the funds available are directed into the crop sector, to the neglect of the livestock industry.
The only two projects the livestock sector had benefited from over the last two decades as against the thousands of projects in the crop sector, was the National Livestock Services Project (NLSP) and the Livestock Development Project (LDP), which were instituted to assist livestock farmers with credits.
The officers of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), when visited, though welcoming and supporting agitation for the establishment of a livestock ministry, were all apprehensive in revealing some of the problems facing the livestock industry and other aspects.
According to them, the establishment of the new ministry for livestock is very necessary only if the government would adhere to the farmers' agitation. They admitted that MOFA seems to be too outsized.
Among some of the places this reporter visited in the northern region, were some suburbs of the Tamale Metropolis, Yapei in the Central Gonja District, Savelugu, Diare, Limanfong, Tampion and Nanton in the West Gonja District as well as Kintampo in the Brong Ahafo Region.
It was a startling revelation when this reporter noticed that livestock farmers who could boast of over one thousand (1000) cattle in addition to some sheep and goats, find it difficult to acquire certain basic needs that make life enjoyable.
Some of them complained bitterly about the hell and difficulties they pass through before paying their laborers who walked hundreds of miles before getting pasture and water for the animals, especially during the dry seasons.
Their inability to pay the laborers was attributed to the poor market for the livestock industry, coupled with the importation of cattle from the neighboring countries.
The cattle farmers lamented, 'it sometimes takes over six to ten months or even a year before getting someone to buy a single cow.'
The Chronicle learnt that most of the farmers have engaged their children as herdsmen of their animals because they could not afford to employ laborers instead. This also contributes to the low standard of education in the northern regions.
Other problems facing the farmers were how to feed their animals with adequate pasture and water as well as medication.
The poor and aggrieved farmers questioned what the government is doing to help them benefit from the monies and resources they have invested in their farms.
Speaking on behalf of the farmers in the Brong Ahafo, Mr. Paul R. Amoah, the Managing Director of Papapaul-Expert Livestock Company in Kintampo was optimistic that the establishment of the livestock ministry would help find them an appealing market, and institute sensitive policies that may attract the financial institutions across the country to provide them grants and loans.
Records this reporter laid hold on at the Northern Regional Veterinary Services Department indicate that local farm animals or livestock look unattractive and unhealthy due to improper feeding and medication by the farmers.
But who is to blame? Farmers, veterinary services department or the government? The blame should greatly be put on the government, for its inability to provide logistics and funds for the livestock agency and farmers respectively.
Contributing his view to this study, the Northern Regional Minister, Abubakar Saddique Boniface supported the people's agitation for a complete ministry for the livestock industry.
The Minister was however quick to add that the people should also fight that some of the existing ministries be merged to function properly.
The amorphous nature of the MOFA, a ministry with ten (10) different directorates, demands critical analysis that would separate the livestock sector from the Agric Ministry to enable the responsible officers have proper inventory of livestock and to restructure and transform the sector to improve upon the livelihoods of the poor farmers who are into livestock production.
Other personalities like Alhaji Imoro Issifu Alhassan, National Democratic Congress (NDC) Northern Regional Administrative Secretary, Hajia Abubakar Kande, a leading member of the Democratic People's Party (DPP), and a good number of parliamentarians have all thrown their support behind the agitation of the poor farmers.
