W/R: Oil palm farmers appeal to government to help stop galamsey

Any further delays in mitigating the devastating effects of galamseyers on oil palm production in the Western Region will render hundreds of oil palm farmers jobless. The oil palm farmers made the appeal in an interaction with the Minister of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, during his tour of the region The farmers who made the complain about the raging impacts of illegal mining on their farms last Tuesday,November 1,2022 and called for urgent need to address it. They told the minister how dire the situation was and asked for an immediate solution to help reduce palm oil importation. They met with the Minister as part of his second leg tour this year to ensure food prices were stabilised through boosting local capacities and improving their yields. The National Treasurer, Oil Palm Farmers Association, Mr. John Essoun, bemoaned the cost of production resulting from high cost of fertilisers. He, therefore, appealed for measures to mitigate same to enable them break even. On his part, the President of Oil Palm Development Association and Estate Manager of Benso Oil Palm Plantations in the Western Region, Ing. Samuel Avaala, said a concerted effort was needed to combat the activities of galamsey operators. He admitted that the activities of galamsey operators were having dire consequences on their work; hence, he called on the government and other stakeholders to act in order to save the sector.