The energetic youth in the galamsey areas in the country have abandoned farming to enter into illegal small-scale mining (Galamsy) practices, former Executive Director of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Dr Charles Nyaaba has said.
He says that farming in these areas has been left to the hands of the aged.
Dr Nyaaba said that the impact of galamsey on food production cannot be in doubt "Majority of the youth have moved to galamsey because it fetches them money, our agric is virtually left in the hands of the aged," he said Speaking during the thought leadership forum on the theme "Galamsey Fight: Beyond the talk, what next?" organized by Media General in Accra on Wednesday, September 25, He stressed, "The issue of galamsey on food production is something we can't doubt.
In a few years, or 10 years to come we will not have any agricultural activities in the galansey areas." For his part, the Director of the Nature and Development Foundation, Mustapha Seidu, said Ghana experienced unprecedented wild hurry for mining leases when the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulation 2022 (L.I. 2462) which permits mining in forest reserves, was passed in 2022.