Farmers at Ohiamadwen and other surrounding communities in the Shama district of the Western Region are furious at the delays by the contractor working on a piece of land earmarked for rice production. In an interview with Multi TV’s Joy News channel, the frustrated farmers who have given up hopes of farming on that piece of land are now demanding compensation to enable them venture into other trade. Ohiamadwen is a predominantly rice producing community, producing some of the high grade local rice in the country. As a result of their interest in rice production, a rice mill has been cited in the community, the first of its kind in the region even though it is yet to be commissioned. In May 2008, government through the inland valley rice sector of the Ministry of Agriculture, acquired a 75 hectare land which was being used for the cultivation of sugar cane, with the view of preparing it with sponsorship from the African Development Bank, for the farmers to enhance their activities and also to ensure high production of rice to feed the mill, a development the over 300 farmers to be affected accepted even though they were not compensated for the destruction of their sugarcane. The farmers had hoped work on the land would be completed within 18 months as promised to enable them go back into business, but that is yet to happen four years on. Even though some loans were given to the farmers prior to the acquisition of the land, it could not sustain the farmers for too long as most of the female affected farmers have now become head porters in order to get money to support their children. As a result, most of the farmers are now demanding payment of compensation since they have lost interest in farming with others resorting to legal action. A visit by the Multi TV news team to the site revealed the contractor was yet to finish the weirs although the pipes had been laid and the lands demarcated for the over 300 affected farmers. Some of the affected farmers who spoke to Multi TV’s Joy News TV expressed their displeasure at the work done so far on the land especially the dam which they claim can only pump about 1 meter of water which will be ineffective during the dry season. A land owner and one of the affected farmers Kofi Nti, expressed worry at the slow pace at which the contractor is working and the little attention given to the farmers’ demands. Another aggrieved famer, Albert Nuvi who is considering taking the matter to court said he only wants his compensation for his 22 acres of land since he cannot farm any more due to advancement in age. He threatened not to vote in the upcoming elections as well as advise members of his family not to venture into farming since the plight of farmers receives little attention in the country. Adwoa Badu, another farmer who lost her farm, is now a head porter at the Beposo market. She requested for the immediate completion of the project or payment of the compensation due her. The contractor was however not present at site when the news team visited.