Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto
KWAKU DAPAAH, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the Ahafo-Ano South East District Assembly in the Ashanti Region is reportedly fighting the cultivation of Cashew in his area, DAILY GUIDE has learnt.
Shortly after President Akufo Addo had launched the 10-year Cashew Development Plan at Wenchi, in February, 2018, in the Brong Ahafo Region, hundreds of farmers in the Ahafo-Ano South East District expressed interest in the crop, considering its profitability, early maturity and high yields.
On January 20, 2018, the farmers invited Collins Antwi Bosiako, director of Cashcanga Ghana Limited, a Cashew growing company to a meeting at Adujama, a farming community in the district to educate them on Cashew cultivation.
However, the meeting came to an abrupt end when the DCE stormed the venue, and invited the Cashcanga director to his office at Mankranso, the district capital, to explain why he failed to seek permission from him (DCE) before entering his jurisdiction.
Antwi Bosiako told DAILY GUIDE the DCE rebuked him, saying, he did not want to see Cashew cultivated in his district because the crop was not suitable for the entire farmlands in the locality.
‘The DCE did not understand why we should enter his catchment area and hold such a meeting with farmers without seeking permission from his office. He threatened to get me arrested if I dared enter his district again for a similar purpose,” he said.
The Cashcanga director wondered whether his company needed a special authorisation from the DCE before he could respond to invitations from farmers, who have the legitimate right to decide what to use their farmlands for.
He threatened to hold the DCE responsible should anything untoward happens to his staff who may visit Cashew growing farmers in the area to offer them the necessary technical advice.
When contacted, Kwaku Dapaah confirmed the incident and said his actions were based on the advice given by his district agricultural officers, who claimed Cashew does not grow well in the area, insisting his personal attempt to grow the crop years ago faced high yield challenges.
He said palm tree and orange are best crops which grow well in the area, but the paper’s checks reveal that Cashew trees bear abundant fruits at Biemso, Adujama, Asuadei, Potikrom, Sabronum and other farming communities within the locality.
FROM James Quansah, Kumasi