In the wake of deafening calls for the eviction of Fulani herdsmen at Agogo in the Asante Akim North Municipality of the Ashanti Region, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Hannah Bissiw, has proposed the establishment of a permanent cattle ranch as the solution to the recent impasse between Fulani herdsmen and locals in the area.
A joint Police and Military task force led by the Ashanti Regional Security Council, REGSEC, has started ejecting the Fulani herdsmen from the area.
[contextly_sidebar id=”HG62AoTakB3Wplnm6CXPENRIeLfJDK1l”]This comes after residents of Agogo vowed to take on the nomadic herdsmen after a farmer was allegedly shot and killed by one of the Fulanis.
The residents have repeatedly accused government of failing to act on a court order three years ago that recommended the eviction of the Fulanis.
Sharing her views on the way forward, the Veterinarian indicated that her Ministry will soon meet with authorities of the town and the herdsmen to come up with a mutual plan that will calm tensions.
She explained that the problem at Agogo is not only a security problem but an agricultural one as well.
“The problem at Agogo is an Agriculture problem because livestock is involved. In trying to find a balance. One part should not destroy the other,” Dr. Bissiw argued.
In proposing a solution she said, “The solution to this will be a meeting with the opinion leaders for us to acquire a land to inaugurate a big cattle ranch.”
Dr. Bissiw further stated that the ranch will house the cattle in different kraals, whiles the herdsmen will employ rotational grazing in their handling of the animals.
She said the cattle will also be able to graze within a confined area without destroying the crops of local farmers.
Dr. Bissiw says government could benefit from such an arrangement with some percentage of the cattle going to them in return.
“Then government can come into an agreement with them where a certain percentage of these animals can go to government.”
The Deputy Minister’s comments are in line with that of Security analyst, Dr. Kwesi Anning, who spoke about the issue on the Citi Breakfast Show earlier this week.
Dr. Anning pointed out that in 1986, Ghana was a member of an ECOWAS team which agreed that there should be regulations on trans-human movement that characterizes the Fulani nomadic lifestyle.
According to Dr Anning, “The regulation governing trans-human enjoined the government to Ghana to create corridors for Fulani to use providing veterinary service, dipping places for the cattle and then when they re-migrate, they leave 10% to 15% of all the cows that have been born in Ghana, here in this country. We have never implemented this.”
Dr Anning also stated that the Fulani situation is a lifestyle issue which needs to be understood better.
“I won’t even call it a problem. It’s a lifestyle. A livelihood style of migration and of moving the cattle and settling temporarily and moving on. We need to understand this.”
–
By Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana