The Ghana National Association of Cattle Farmers (GNACF) has called on the government to allow the cattle owners themselves to manage Wawase rance in the Kwahu Afram Plains.
The Association expressed worry about death and theft of most of the cattle in the ranch due to poor management of the Wawase rance.
This called was made by the National Chairman of GNACF, Imam Hanafi Sonde at a press conference in Accra on Monday on challenges the farmers are facing in the cattle rearing sector.
Imam Sonde called on the government to call for official records of the number of animals received by management into the ranch and the mortality rate.
The Association also wanted a stakeholder engagement to agree on the way forward to address the issue confronting the sector.
Ghana Cattle Ranching Project Committee was launched by the government to find solutions the perennial
Government launched the Ghana Cattle Ranching Project Committee to find lasting solutions to the persistent challenges between cattle farmers and crop farmers that had continued over the years.
The Committee was tasked to develop a well-tested strategy to improve domestic ranching in the country.
The Association commended government for the formation of the project and the rehabilitation of the Wawase cattle ranch.
Imam Sonde said the Wawase ranch was rehabilitated to serve as a pilot project with a holding capacity of 6,000 animals but 2,000 animals were requested for piloting, which the Association described as outrageous.
“As a pilot project, we thought it was necessary for assessment and evaluation to be done before proceeding to the next level, but nothing was done due to poor management of the facility,” he added.
“From July 2017 to January 2019, the Association lost 176 animals aside premature delivery by many animals due to poor supervision of the facility, calling on the government to investigate the activities of managers of the facility”, he said.
Mr. Theophilous Besah Avor, the General Secretary, Kwahu Afram Plain Cattle Farmers Association, said he sent 183 cattle in July 2018 but now the animals had reduced to 75, and managers of the facility cited theft and death as the cause of the reduction.
He said government’s intention to renovate the Wawase ranch was of good interest, but the management of the facility was not encouraging, calling for an intervention to avoid any untoward situation.
Dr. Kwame Oppong Anane, the Chairman of the GCRC, admitted that things were not going well with the management of the facility and call for government intervention to resolve the issue before it got worse.
He refuted concerns that there was inadequate feed and water for the cattle, saying there were enough feed and medicines for the animals.
