An Agricultural Expert, Yahaya Abdul-Razak, has urged the government and other relevant stakeholders to join forces and deal ruthlessly with illegal sand-winning practices on smallholder farmlands in rural areas.

He said while public conversations had often focused on illegal mining activities (galamsey), sand winning and stone quarrying had also emerged as an equally devastating force that required urgent attention “before it gets out of hand.”

In an interview, he stated that the country risked its food security if smallholder farmlands continued to be destroyed without any strict action from those in authority.

Mr Abdul-Razak said: “If the government is saying we must produce our own food to feed the nation, then it must equally take firm actions against sand winning, because if those in rural areas are losing their sources of livelihoods, how then can they produce and feed themselves?”

He noted that in communities where agriculture was the backbone of the people’s survival, sand winning resulted not just in a loss of income but also in their future.

“We must focus some attention on this issue because we are talking about a practice that leads to the long-term loss of arable lands, and if this keeps on silently, we may find it difficult to halt, just like galamsey has become,” he added.

Mr Abdul-Razak called on the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), and other key stakeholders in the agricultural value chain to act swiftly to fight the menace.