Following the recent public outcry coming from farmers of Sakoti in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region over elephants evasion and destruction of their farm produce during the past farming seasons, the Nabdam Member of Parliament Dr. Mark Kurt Nawaani has organized a forum in collaboration with the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission to sensitize farmers ahead of the 2021 farming season.
According to Dr. Mark Kurt Nawaani, for the past few years, the elephants from Kabore in Burkina Faso passes through the farms of these farmers and ending up destroying their farms and crops and go away.
He further insisted that this time around, he decided to hold a farming forum at the beginning of the farming season for the farmers to sensitize them on how to safeguard their farm produce and at the same time without harming the elephants”.
“We don’t have to harm the elephants because Ghana as a nation we have signed a lot of treaties on wildlife conservation”.
According to Dr. Kurt Nawaani, his move for the forum was in consultation with the Regional Manager of wildlife for the 5 northern sectors Joseph Binlinla, who advised that there are methods the farmers can adopt to protect their farms and crops.
“It was done in Bawku West and they have succeeded relatively to scare away the elephants”. He said
However, he believes is time for the Nabdam district assembly and the government has to come in by identifying how to solve the canker cordially.
The Regional wildlife manager in charge of Northern Ghana Mr. Joseph Binlinla took the farmers through some education on ways to prevent elephants from evading their farmlands and what they need to do when they see elephants in their farms.
- If the farmers can get a gun powder and intermittently shoot it into the sky when they noticed the elephants are around.
- If the farmers can get a Solar light and hang it in the farms at various vantage points. When they see the light, they will know that is a human habitant and might move aware.
- If the farmers can get some cow don and add pepper to it and burn it at vantage points in the farm. Because the elephants have a very good nose or smelling ability and when they smell it, they will automatically move away.
- If the farmers, can tie plastic waste around the edges of their farms, is likely that the elephant will not enter.
- If the farmers also drum as a way of noise making, the elephants are likely to move away from your area and go to a different area.
- He also encourages the farmers not to wear any red, yellow or white cloth to the farm, in order not catch the eyes of the elephants
Meanwhile, upon all the preventive measures outlined by the wildlife manager, some of the farmers were worried about the sustainability of these measures, as they resorted to be farming in groups which to them, will enable them to keep vigilant to their farmlands.
However, they as well pledged not to kill any of the elephants.
Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen
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