Cocoa farmers in some villages in the Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai Municipality of the Western North Region have sworn to oppose the Ghana Bauxite Company’s forced annexation of 2,700 acres of valuable cocoa farmland for a bauxite refinery station.
The affected communities—Atronsu, Awaso, Bobrapa, Kwaaffumkrom, Apenkrom, Kwaadjeikrom, and Asukokokrom—have expressed worries about what they see as an illegal takeover of their land.
The firm, through traditional leaders in Sehwi Awaso, has conveyed its intention to use the farmlands for the refinery project, raising tensions. Red bands have already been placed on some farms, indicating that the corporation intends to take them.
In reaction, cocoa growers have threatened extreme resistance, even armed confrontation, in order to protect their livelihoods.
The farmers have petitioned the government, the Ghana Cocoa Board, and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to intervene and prevent the takeover.
Andrews Asare, chairman of the Atronsu Nkanbom Cocoa Cooperative, has also urged the authorities to protect farmers and their farmlands from devastation.