By: Asona Dehyie Kwateng
Cashew farmers of Badu-Kwasifiri in the Tain District of the Bono Region are threatening violence over what they describe as the illegal and forceful seizure of their farmlands by NDC Chairman, Asiedu Nketia.
The farmers allege that Chairman Asiedu Nketia is seizing vast acres of land, which serve as their primary source of income and food, claiming that his party is in power. They assert that neither the chiefs nor the landowners have engaged in any land negotiations with the chairman, yet he has deployed excavators, destroying farmlands, cash crops, cashew trees, cassava, plantain, and other essential food crops.
According to the cashew farmers, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Asiedu Nketia, has never consulted them concerning the land.
Speaking in an interview with Asona Dehyie Kwateng, the farmers bitterly expressed that a court has placed an injunction on the lands, but Chairman Asiedu Nketia has allegedly defied the injunction, claiming his party is in power. They further alleged that he is using police officers and land guards to harass residents and cashew farmers.
Facing what they describe as incessant intimidation from Chairman Asiedu Nketia and his macho men, the farmers are calling on the government, national security, law enforcement agencies, and other stakeholders to intervene before the situation escalates. They warned that they may resort to using cutlasses and guns to defend their lands, a situation that could lead to violence and bloodshed.
