Some farmers in the Asante-Mampong Municipality of the Ashanti region are resorting to suicide as several hectares of their farms are destroyed by cattle herded by Fulani men.

At least four people committed suicide by hanging or drinking pesticides last year at Adidwan alone because they could not bear their painful loss after cattle destroyed large tracts of farm produce.

Having contracted loans from the banks to engage in commercial farming, the farmers were distraught to see their farms destroyed by the wandering cattle. 

Asiama, Bonoso, Adidwan, and Dome are some of the communities hit by the invasion of the cattle.

A worried farmer, Josephine Amponsah who has lost eight acres of her pineapple farm to cattle grazing confirmed the sad approach adopted by troubled farmers.

“As the season is starting now, our hearts are on fire because we are in trouble," she said, adding that "most of us go for loans from the bank to cultivate our farms so when it is destroyed, we cannot stand it".

“Some [farmers] hanged themselves while others drank poison just to end it all because they can’t bear the cost and frustration,” narrated Madam Amponsah.

The revelation comes at a time the regional police command launched what it calls ‘Operation Cowleg’ to flush-out Fulani herdsmen from Agogo and its environs, in a bid to prevent their animals from causing extensive damage in those areas.

It is common to see cattle pulling down and trampling over every green leaf on sight.

Crops, including cassava, beans, plantain, maize, and pineapples are at the mercy of the animals, with the herdsmen watching from afar.

The nomads appear to have relocated from Agogo, where they reduced natives to paupers with massive damage, despite police and military intervention.

In some of the communities they have resettled in, their sources of drinking water have also been affected.

“The cattle step in our water and wash themselves in it. The same water that we drink, so it is difficult to drink from it,” a farmer said.

The farmers are helpless against the armed and hostile herdsmen who are a threat to both life and property after repeated complaints to police and traditional authorities yield no positive result.

However, residents of Adidwan recently mustered courage to confront the Fulani herdsmen, resulting in a gun-battle which lasted more than four hours.

As the new farming season begins, farmers are in a dilemma for fear of losing their investments; a situation they say threatens food security.

Municipal Chief Executive for Mampong, Mohammed Kojo Aboasu, says the Security Committee is already tackling the menace.

“We are working. We arrested them [Fulani herdsmen]; discussed with them, chase them away from the communities that they were in so it is left is with the local herdsmen,” said Mr Aboasu.

Meanwhile Luv News' checks reveal a similar situation is being reported in parts of nearby Sekyere Central District.