Afram Plains gets a ranch to tackle herdsmen tensions – Nana Addo

The government has set up its first cattle ranch in the Afram Plains to help deal with the tensions between nomadic herdsmen and farmers, according to President Nana Akufo-Addo.

Speaking at Adaklu, during his three-day tour of the Volta Region, President Akufo-Addo added that his government has begun the construction of similar ranches across the country.

[contextly_sidebar id=”iQpdT1fcT2oIvsvqS0xqlOQh4IJna7TA”]“The first ranch has been established at the Afram Plains, and we have chosen several sites around the country where we are going to establish these ranches in order to bring the cattle into safe, secure environment, so that the desecration of the land you are witnessing here will be a thing of the past.”

The President also told the Chiefs and people of Adaklu that they should expect a ranch in their area.

“We have begun the first one, and we will continue. I know one is scheduled to be set up for this area,” he said.

Clashes between farmers and nomadic herdsmen have been a deep-seated problem for decades across the sub-region and observers view the ranches as providing a solution.

These clashes have in led to injuries, death and destruction of property over the years.

President Akufo-Addo has previously vowed to find a solution to the problem once and for all.

“It is important that I speak frankly to you. Everybody in this country has been disturbed by the activities of ‘Fulani herdsmen’. You hear about reports from different parts of the country, Volta Region, Ashanti Region is very disturbing and therefore finding a solution is one of the big concerns of my government,” the President told the leaders of some Fulani Herdsmen in March.

Such tensions escalated earlier in 2018 in the Asante Akyem North District of the Ashanti Region after four security personnel, including three military officers and a police officer, who had been deployed to the area to evict nomadic herdsmen and their cattle, were shot by an unknown assailant at Agogo.

The government had dispatched about 200 personnel drawn from the military and police service to the Asante Akyem North and Sekyere Afram Plains districts, to flush out nomadic herdsmen who were reportedly terrorizing farmers.

Hundreds of cattle were killed, while some of the herders and their cattle were evicted from the Asante Akyem North, into the Sekyere District.

Other incidents that occurred at Dwerebeafe, Aboyan and Mpeamu in the Kwahu East District between nomadic herdsmen believed to be of Fulani extraction and some farmers, reportedly led to the death of nine persons.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citinewsroom.com/Ghana