Mr Jerry Yao Ameko, the Adaklu District Chief Executive (DCE), on Thursday disclosed that he was working hard with other stakeholders to bring the menace of cattle herdsmen to an end in the district.
“Very soon, the destruction of farms by cattle and the killing of cattle by farmers will be a thing of the past,” he assured.
Mr Ameko made the disclosure during an engagement with stakeholders at Adaklu Dawanu aimed at finding solutions to the menace.
The stakeholders included traditional leaders, opinion leaders, youth group leaders, landowners, cattle owners, and cattle herdsmen.
Mr Ameko noted that crop farmers and animal rearers were dependent on each other, saying, “We all depend on each other for our survival.”
He stated that as a first step toward finding a solution to the menace, nine-member committees would be formed in all cattle-rearing enclaves in the district.
The DCE, who is also the Dean of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the Volta Region, said the committees would be composed of traditional leaders, community members, landowners, and cattle owners.
He stated that the first of such committees would be inaugurated at Adaklu Dawanu next week.
Mr Ameko intimated that the committees, through the landowners, would register all cattle owners within their jurisdictions.
He said if a farm was destroyed and the owner of the cattle responsible was not found, the committee would require all registered cattle owners in that enclave to contribute towards compensating the affected farmer.
The DCE appealed to the people to lend their support to the committees to ensure their work was effective and efficient, in order to help bring lasting peace and coexistence between farmers and herdsmen in the district.
“Let us avoid all violent confrontations and allow the committees that will be inaugurated in our enclaves to work on our behalf,” he said.
The DCE expressed hope that if the committees carried out their duties effectively and efficiently, Adaklu would bounce back as the food basket, including meat production, of the Volta Region.
