Agogo Citizens Assoc - Washington Metro Area

DEMOLITION OF PLANTAIN FARMS, SOFIYA - TADIASO

The farmers in Agogo, Asante Akyem North are calling for help as to the demolition of their plantain farms at Sofiya – Tadiaso a suburb of Agogo. According to elder Amoako, who spoke on behalf of the farmers told agogoonline that, the land in question has been given to them by the late Hon. Baah Wiredu for cultivation. They accepted the offer given to them in good faith from the honorable and use the land to grow plantain since it’s now the major consuming food.

After three years, they received a message from Agogo stool that they should evacuate the land in three years time to come, not quiet long some white men also came to alert them regarding to the same land. Due this numerous notifications they decided to speak to the chiefs of Agogo, so they could maintain the land, but to no avail. The farmers tried various means to meet with the elders of Agogo by writing letters and speaking to them but had no response.

On hearing this report, agogoonline visited the forestry division in which I spoke to Mr. Joseph Nti, the Asst. Regional Registrar for Agogo Traditional area confirmed that, the land was a forest reserve for that matter (virgin forest), which fire guttered in to the whole land and bare.

After this incident had occurred, the people of Agogo decided to use the land for cultivation without seeking anybody’s consent, so the authorities kept mute for a while until 2007 when they called the people farming on the land to quit from it because the government and the stool of Agogo has leased the land to the NICOL company (National Interest Company Limited) to plant trees.

The NICOL Company gave the farmers to vacate the land by the end of 2009 but the farmers was unyielding, they continued till this year when the company decided to destroyed their crops which they passed a lot of unnecessary comments that “the chiefs and elders of Agogo has sold the land to foreigners instead them.”

Moreover the chief had already given them a portion of land to cultivate and at the same time plant trees in between. The farmers agreed and started the exercise, later they used chemicals to destroy the trees which made the chief irritated and asked them not farm on the land anymore and this was the main reasons why the NICOL Company wants to do away with the farmers so they could establish their mission.

Mr. Nti emphasizes with the finalization that, the land is a forest reserve and it should be maintain as such and give way to the NICOL Company.

Source : agogoonline