Concord Times (Freetown)
Alusine Sesay
9 January 2009
Freetown — It had been decades since cattle rearing started in the Northern Province. Since then farmers within this region have been faced with the destruction of their crops by cattle. Among many other farmers facing these problems, are those in the Gbendembu Nogwahun chiefdom, particularly Kalangba and its surroundings.
It is indeed a pity on the side of the farmers when one considers the hurdles they go through to do their farming. They use crude implements from brushing to harvesting with no aid from government. They sometimes undertake huge debts to provide food for work hoping to pay back after harvesting. But sadly, before these crops like cassava, rice and potato enter into maturity the cattle will come and destroy the true labour of the poor people whose livelihood depends on the farms.
What is so appalling is that the farmers will do their best by creating a barrier to protect their crops but to no avail. They will use all their time and effort to fence their farms but a big hungry bull would break that barrier and allow the entrance of colleagues for destruction. Imagine the potential in these cattle to destroy a whole farm after a whole year of toiling by farmers.
However, farmers have been reacting angrily to this destruction after a series of complaints to the local authorities with no redress. They sometimes use their machetes against these cattle and have injured many. Early last year, they protested by setting ablaze of the residents of those cattle herders. The event led to the imprisonment of many farmers in the Makeni prison, but they were later released with the help of Dr. Sheku Babah Saccoh, the former Sierra Leonean Ambassador to Guinea.
Malikie Kabia and Mammy Amie, whose rice farms were totally destroyed by those hungry and uncontrolled cattle, filed their complaints to the local authorities for redress. But according to the councillor Mr. T.R. Kanu, the case is above him because there is a council made up of the A.I.G Bombali, the district council chairman, a representative of the farmers, and others, who are supposed to handle such matters.
Worst of all, according to the youth leader Ibrahim Sesay of Kalangba, is that these cattle herders always underpay farmers for the destruction. For instance, the cattle herders after inspecting the destruction caused by their animals can only afford to give meagre sums like Le 10,000 to farmers, which is not equivalent to the yearly labour of the poor farmers.
Also, a farmer could be sent to prison for wounding a cow, but the herders can never be treated in such manner for the destruction caused by their cattle. Is it that cattle rearing is going to overshadow farming in that area, with hunger hitting all corners of the world?
The farmers, however, are not against cattle rearing because it is also part of agriculture. But the fact is that these cattle are not to be left freely to graze on their farms, which are the source of their sustenance. As many readers will agree with me, the intensive system of rearing animals is ideal to practice side by side with farming.
This situation needs government's intervention or else it will surely get out of hands and result in a large scale rebellion and hunger in that region. Therefore, the minister of local government and others must take a drastic move to solve this problem.
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