Farmers in several communities in the Ada West District of the Greater Accra Region have appealed to the Lands Commission and Bonifiche Ferraresi (BF), an Italian agribusiness company, to expedite compensation for farmlands affected by the company’s agricultural project.
The affected farmers, drawn from Ayisah, Tehe, Luta, Blanya and surrounding communities, said they had been without their primary source of livelihood since September 2025, when their farms were taken over following the lease of the land to the company.
According to the farmers, more than 300 people who depended largely on farming for their income had been affected by the project.
They said nearly a year after their farms were taken over, compensation had not been paid, leaving many families struggling to meet their basic needs.
Some of the farmers said they would return to the affected lands within two weeks if the compensation process was not expedited.
Mr Richard MacCarthy, one of the affected farmers, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that crops and other farm produce cultivated on the land were destroyed when the company commenced operations.
Mr Ishmael Mawulorko, another affected farmer, said the destruction of his cassava, maize and okra farms had left him unable to repay a loan he had contracted to finance his farming activities.
He said when the affected farmers approached the company, they were informed that the Lands Commission had leased the land to BF without indicating that it was under cultivation.
Mr Joshua Atruku, an affected farmer, said the prolonged delay in paying compensation had pushed many affected families into hardship.
“We are hungry, our families are starving, we can’t bear it any longer,” he stated
Other residents told the GNA that although company officials had indicated that compensation would be paid, beneficiaries had not been informed about the amount due to them or when the payment would be made.
A visit by the GNA to the project site showed that portions of the affected land had been cultivated with maize, while other sections had been ploughed for further farming activities.
When contacted, officials of Bonifiche Ferraresi confirmed that the compensation issue existed but declined to comment further.
Mr Felix Kwame, the Chief Security Officer, and Mr Jerry Korle, the Human Resources Manager, said management had directed that all enquiries on the matter be referred to the Ada West District Assembly.
Mr Mordzifa Tanihu Jerry John Foreigner Mills-Nkrumah, the Ada West District Chief Executive, said that although the project was located within the district, the land fell under the jurisdiction of the Volta Regional Lands Commission.
He explained that the Lands Commission was responsible for land acquisition, valuation and compensation matters relating to the project.
The DCE said although the Assembly had collaborated with the Lands Commission during the initial stages of the exercise, subsequent efforts to facilitate early payment of compensation had not produced the expected outcome.
Mr Emmanuel Kofi Adzakey, an officer of the Lands Commission, confirmed that valuation and crop enumeration exercises had been undertaken on the affected lands.
He explained that although the exercise did not establish extensive crop destruction across all the affected areas, Ghana’s laws required that persons affected by land acquisition or related activities be compensated where appropriate.
Mr Adzakey said documentation for the first phase of the valuation and compensation exercise had been completed and expressed optimism that payments would commence soon to pave the way for the second phase of valuation and crop enumeration.
By Opesika Tetteh Puplampu, GNA