Encroachers threaten operations of Golden Exotics Ltd
The viability of Golden Exotics Ghana Limited, one of the country's largest producers and exporters of pineapples and bananas, is under threat as a result of the continuous encroachment of its farm lands.
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The activities of the encroachers, through sand winning and putting up buildings on the lands belonging to the company, has resulted in a slump in production and employment at its pineapple farms at Obom in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.
From an initial employment of 2,000 workers when the company started its operations in Ghana in 2003, Golden Exotics now employs about 250 workers, and with the continued activities of the encroachers, there are fears this number will reduce.
The Managing Director of the Company, Mr Olivier Chassang, told journalists ahead of a visit to the pineapple farm that the encroachers took advantage of the fallow period of production to do their activities on the land.
"We are into agriculture so having land is very crucial for our operations. Some people just come and work on our lands. It is during the fallow period that they carry out their activities. The fallow period is about 18 months, and it doesn’t mean we don’t need the land," he said.
He added, “They are taking our lands and that is more or less like killing us. If we don’t have the land, then we cannot operate. We have tried to explain to them but it seems they don’t care. So now we are talking to the press, the police and the traditional authorities.”
Field visit
A team of journalists and management of the company visited its farm lands in Obom on January 5.
The visit to the site confirmed that the suckers had been removed and some portion of the land had been graded.
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The top soil of some portion of the farmland has also been removed making it unusable for pineapple production.
Slump in production
The volume of pineapple production has slumped over the years, with the company recording its lowest yield of 3,600 tonnes in 2016. Between 2010 and 2011, over 10,000 tonnes of pineapple were produced. It reduced to 8,000 tonnes in 2012, went down further to 6,000 tonnes in 2014 and to 4,000 tonnes in 2015. The slump in production is expected to affect the export targets of the company.
He said should this trend continue, the company may need to relocate its operations from the area.
“If we don’t have land, we stop. It doesn’t mean we are going to earn less money. The encroachments are such that if it continues, we have to stop business completely. We are into agriculture and if we don’t have land, we can’t produce,” he said.
Latest invasion
According to the Corporate Affairs and Administrative Manager of the company, Mr George Kporye, the encroachers invaded its pineapple farm in the evening and cleared all the suckers it had planted on December 31, last year.
The company estimates that the cleared suckers will cost it about GH¢250,000. This latest invasion has reduced the hectares owned by the company at Obom, from 700 to about 400 hectares.
Court action
Mr Kporye explained that the company was seeking legal redress over the issue as attempts to settle it amicably had proven futile.
“For this particular company, they have encroached on all our fallow lands, to the extent that our workers cannot come to the field to work. Some of our workers on the field have also been captured sometimes.
“We are definitely taking legal action. It is not only about us; a lot of the pineapple farms have had to close down because of this. It starts with sand winning and the supposed real estate companies. We don’t want to end like that, we are fighting all the way to the court,” he said.