The local authority in the Sekyere Afram Plains District, Ashanti Region, is taking steps to enact a bylaw to regulate cattle rearing to help prevent conflict between farmers and herdsmen in the area.
The move follows proposals from research conducted between 2019 and 2024 into the activities of herdsmen and farmers in the locality.
When finalised, the law will require herdsmen to obtain ‘a herding permit’ from the District Assembly and ‘a land allocation permit’ from landowners before cattle graze in the area.
It makes provision for compensation for farmers in the event of crop damage, the establishment of a District Herding Committee, and also prohibits night grazing among others.
Dr Osei Tutu of the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, made this known at a stakeholder meeting in Accra to discuss findings of the ReDIAL project funded by the European Union and implemented by local partners.
The project seeks to ‘contribute to innovation in agricultu
re and food systems in Ghana through research, application of technology, organisation of farmers and multi-stakeholder platforms for policy reforms.’
Presenting the findings of the research, Dr Osei Tutu said ‘occasional clashes’ between farmers and transhumance herders (Fulani herdsmen) required more pragmatic solutions.
Despite the peaceful co-habitation of farmers and herdsmen in the Sekyere Afram Plains, he observed that farmer-herder conflict emerged because the herdsmen operated without clear procedures.
‘They [herdsmen] get the land from the owners and the owners do not specify any dos and don’ts…When the bye-law is finalised, it will help sanitise herding in the Sekyere Afram Plains District.
‘To the best of our knowledge, we are not aware of any bylaws in Ghana which regulate herding, and we believe this is something other districts in Ghana can adopt,’ he stated.
The researcher said the draft had gone through ‘multi-stakeholder reviews’ and was left with ‘a series of Assembly seatings and proc
edures to be gazetted’.
Dr Osei Tutu stressed the importance of cattle rearing as ‘a relevant livelihood activity in Ghana’ which had to be sustained like other agricultural activities.
‘The value chain of cattle rearing is huge; it is employing lots of people from kebab to restaurant joints, hotels, and marketplaces, and generating revenue so we need [to sustain] it.
‘Cattle rearing is happening across the country and laws are needed to regulate it…when the laws are made, the herders will obey the laws,’ he added.
To deal with the challenges of free-range cattle rearing, Dr Osei Tutu urged the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to implement its proposal to establish grazing reserves for cattle rearers.
‘The grazing reserve is a vast land where cattle rearers can move their cattle to in the dry season…they are much bigger and can accommodate about 200,000 cattle…that is a more practical way to find space for cattle during the dry season,’ he said.
Source: Ghana News Agency