Ghana risks a “generational food crisis” if illegal mining (galamsey) is not tackled, the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has warned.

In a statement signed by the National President, Wepia Awal Addo Adugwala, on 10 September 2024, the farmers said galamsey has decimated farmlands.

“Over 1.2 million hectares of farmland have been lost to illegal mining, and water bodies, including irrigation facilities, have been polluted, making sustainable production challenging.”

“The activities of illegal mining have not only destroyed the viability of our cocoa sector but also the production of food crops for consumption, industry and export,” the statement noted.

Describing the perpetrators as “wicked, callous, and greedy individuals,” the farmers said they are unable to use the polluted water sources for farming “as they have been heavily polluted with poisonous chemicals and have become very turbid.”

“This is in addition to the soils which have been poisoned, compromising the quality of the food crops that we produce,” they complained.

“We are on the verge of a generational food crisis, due to the unavailability of farmlands, effects of climate change and the wanton destruction of our water bodies,” the farmers warned.

“We also call on all farmers across the country to support all actions by various groups within their jurisdiction to bring an immediate end to this menace.”