Prime News Ghana

176 Cattle missing at Wawase Ranch - GNACAF alleges

By Mutala Yakubu
176 Cattle missing at Wawase Ranch
176 Cattle missing at Wawase Ranch
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Atleast some 176 cattle being catered for at the Wawase Cattle Ranch in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District cannot be accounted for according to the Ghana National Association of Cattle Farmers (GNACAF).


Some owners said between July 2017 and January 2019, the “poor management” of the ranch had also led to premature deliveries by many of the livestock in the ranch.

The GNACAF has proposed that the management of the ranch be entrusted in the care of the cattle owners and the Ghana Cattle Ranching Committee (GCRC) since they know the needs of the cattle better than the current management.

They complained that the manner the ranch is being managed could derail the purpose for its establishment.

The National Chairman of the GNACAF, Imam Hanafi Sonde, at a news conference on August 19, 2019, said the cattle owners “know the needs of the cattle better than the current management” and could, therefore, better manage the ranch.

The press conference was to draw the attention of the government and stakeholders to the challenges of the Wawase Ranch and other related issues.

The association called on government to dismiss the Farm Manager of the ranch, Mr James Yaw Asante, with immediate effect to prevent further loss of animals and general mismanagement of the ranch.

It alleged that just recently, only 15 out of 42 cattle that got missing had been found, while the remaining 27 were still unaccounted for, and called on the ranch manager to provide an official record of the number.

“The cattle are our property and a source of income to many of us, hence losing them under any circumstance is a big setback to us,” Imam Sonde said.

“We know what we want and what our cattle want; therefore, as long as they have not been changed to foreign breeds, no one can take better care of them than we can do,” he added.

The association, however, commended the government, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the GCRC and the Afram Plains South District Assembly for the effort to address the perennial conflict between the cattle farmers and crop farmers over cattle grazing.

About the Wawase Ranch
President Akufo-Addo commissioned the Wawase Cattle Ranch in 2018. He said the Ranch helped to end the acrimony and clashes that had characterised local farmers and nomadic herdsmen over the years.

The construction of cattle ranches at that part of the country is in fulfilment of a campaign pledge the President made in the run-up to the 2016 elections, to help end the numerous clashes between nomadic herdsmen and farmers, which, over the years, had claimed many lives and properties.

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