Illegal mining activities are gradually undermining the agricultural foundation of farming communities in Ghana, with the Ghana Youth Environmental Movement (GEM) warning that the loss of farmlands could threaten long-term food security.

The environmental advocacy group says communities such as Asiakwa in the Eastern Region, which have traditionally depended on farming for crops including cassava and plantain, are increasingly losing agricultural lands to galamsey operations.

National Coordinator of GEM, Glory Emmanuella Appiah, said the expansion of illegal mining has disrupted local food production and forced some residents to rely on markets for crops they previously cultivated themselves.

“Asiakwa used to be a farming community where they grew their own food. So they grew their cassava, their plantains. But because of the rising interest in Galamsey by some of the young people, some of the young people were selling their farmlands,” she said.

According to Ms Appiah, the sale and conversion of farmlands for mining activities has weakened the agricultural base of affected communities and increased dependence on food supplies from other areas.

She explained that the situation has also contributed to rising food prices in some mining communities, as traders take advantage of increased purchasing power among illegal miners.

“Because the young people who were involved in Galamsey had the money and had the purchasing power, they were also willing to buy the foodstuff at any given price or at any ridiculous price that the people who were selling it would ask for,” she said.

Ms Appiah stressed that the impact of galamsey extends beyond environmental destruction, affecting livelihoods, local economies and the ability of communities to sustain themselves.

She argued that tackling illegal mining requires addressing the economic conditions that push young people into the activity.

“We try to explain the effects of the Galam Sea to them, the long-term effects, the current effects, and then try to juxtapose that with the benefits you would have gotten if you had engaged in an alternative livelihood option,” she said.

The GEM coordinator identified alternative livelihood opportunities such as mushroom farming, snail farming, beekeeping and regenerative agriculture as possible pathways for young people in mining communities.

“Mushroom farming requires little to no capital to start,” she added, noting that such initiatives could provide income opportunities while reducing pressure on natural resources.

She called for greater investment in livelihood support programmes, arguing that awareness campaigns alone would not be enough to convince people to abandon illegal mining without practical economic alternatives.

For GEM, protecting Ghana’s environment and fighting galamsey must go hand in hand with safeguarding the agricultural systems that sustain communities and contribute to national food security.