Some residents of Ofuman in the Techiman North Municipality of the Bono East Region, are calling on the government and relevant stakeholders to come to their aid as Fulani herdsmen continue to destroy their crops.
According to them, a recent influx of Fulani herdsmen with thousands of cattle has caused widespread destruction to farm products. The farmers, already struggling from poor yields following a failed rainy season, have seen their remaining crops devoured by the cattle, exacerbating their hardships.
In an interview with the media, Mr. Maxwell Osei, the Assembly man of the area, revealed that the cattle estimated to be around a thousand, appeared seemingly out of nowhere and began destroying farm products. He said despite their efforts to chase the herdsmen away over the past two weeks, the situation has worsened.
Mr. Maxwell Osei, further disclosed that, when they confront the herdsmen, the cattle are commanded to attack using unfamiliar languages, making it even more difficult to resolve the issue.
“We are really suffering in this community, and the Fulani herdsmen are making it even more difficult for us.
“We all know how the rains failed us during the last farming season, so our crops didn’t yield as we expected and yet, these herdsmen have brought their cattle to destroy the little crops we have in our farms.
“There are over 1,000 cattle currently in this community that belongs to the herdsmen, and when we confront them, they use strange languages to command the cattle to attack us.
“It seems the Fulani herdsmen are determined to destroy our crops. We have done everything we can to chase them away over the past two weeks, but it seems they are unwilling to leave us in peace. That is why we have officially involved the police in this matter.” He said.
Some affected farmers who spoke with the media alleged that community leaders have accepted money from the herdsmen to allow them to operate in the area, and therefore, they are calling on the government to come to their aid.
“I suspect that the leaders of this community have accepted money from the herdsmen to allow them to bring their cattle into Offuman. Now, we can’t even go to our farms because we are afraid the herdsmen will attack us.” A woman told our reporter.
Another woman said, “We don’t believe the cattle destroying our crops are owned by the indigenous people of this community. We know everyone who owns cattle here, and they have never destroyed our crops until recently.
“We suspect that the Fulani herdsmen brought these cattle from elsewhere, and now they are destroying our crops.
Source: Elvisanokenews.com
