Farmers in some communities within the Bia West District, such as Abosi, Camp 15, Nafana, Akaatiso, and others, as a matter of urgency, pleading with the authorities to come to their aid to find a solution to drive away elephants that have been destroying their farm products.

Elephants have been destroying the farm products of farmers in the above communities for some time now.

According to the farmers, the Elephants always destroy their farm products and they don’t know how to drive them away.

The communities complained that they don’t only flatten their farms but also destroyed the river they drink from.

According to them, they can’t gather the cocoa pods in their cocoa farms again because the Elephants will chew it all when they do.

Speaking to Nana Ama Antwiwaa of Winners 104.9 FM in Sefwi Essam, the Assembly member for the Abosi Electoral Area, Mr. Joe Loko, confirmed that the farmers have complained to him bitterly.

He said since they can’t kill the Elephants and don’t know how to drive them away, they have written to the Bia West District Assembly and the Game Commission about Elephants invading their lands and terrorizing their lives.

However, they are pleading with the assembly to do everything possible to help them drive the elephants away.

He pleaded with the residents in the affected areas to restrain from attacking the elephants and wait for directives from the relevant authorities.

On his part, Mr. Paa Ekoaw, the Manager of the Park for Bia Forest Reserve, told Ama Antwiwaa that they had received the complaints from the farmers and had gone there severally to get first-hand information about the situation.

He said all they can do now is to form volunteer groups that will help drive the elephants away whenever they step out of the forest to their farms.

On whether there will be compensation for the farmers that have their farm products demolished by the Elephants, Mr. Ekoaw said his office will collaborate with NADMO and the Assembly to see how best they can help the farmers.

He pleaded with the communities to have patience and collaborate with the authorities to find lasting solutions to the problem.