Farmers vow to poison crops against stray animals

Some farmers within Nkambe Central Subdivision in Donga-Mantung Division, who pleaded not to be named, have vowed to spray their crops with toxic chemicals, to poison stray animals that eat them.

They expressed their discontentment recently when they found their crops eaten and destroyed by stray goats. The women lamented that the inhabitants of Nkambe Central have faced food scarcity in the past years because they do not cultivate twice a year as happens elsewhere, due to the stray animals.

They argued that people in towns cultivate twice a year because of the growing population and high demand. Although animal rearing is necessary as its meat are used in their traditional meal, ‘fufu-corn’, the animals must always be kept in fences to avoid destruction of crops.

The women said they had resorted to spraying their crops with poisonous chemicals because goats, pigs, fowls or cows often destroy the crops

“It is better to spray the farms now with such poisonous chemicals, so that any animal that dies in the farm would be paying for its owner’s carelessness,” said one of the farmers.

It should be remembered that the Cameroonian Government has of recent been encouraging farmers on second season of cropping through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

It is on these grounds that the Divisional Delegation of Agriculture is sharing free seedlings and fertilisers to farmers during this season of second cropping. Government has equally warned individuals to keep their animals in fences to avoid destroying crops, especially during this period.

The Divisional Delegate of Agriculture, George Ncham, has, however, strongly condemned the decision by some farmers to spray their crops with poisonous chemicals to fight stray animals.

He described the act as criminal, while admitting that there are chemicals often used to kill insects on plants that are toxic and could also kill animals and even human beings. He said anytime they are to be used, the animal owners and the inhabitants around are informed. He added that it could have toxic effects on the consumers later.

Nevertheless, the Delegate frowned on those obstinate animal farmers who continue to allow their animals to graze unmonitored. He also regretted the bottle-necks and corruption surrounding cases of destruction of crops by animals and prayed the farmers and the grazers to remain within the ambit of the law.

He advised the grazers to keep their animals while farmers should take measures to protect their crops, called on both to cooperate with administrative and technical services.

Ncham prayed both the grazers and farmers to always use dialogue to settle such disputes. He advised them to avoid rushing for administrative or legal action but to dialogue and resolve issues between them.

He disclosed that the Delegation had received a good consignment of materials; seedlings and fertilizers, adding that there were also chemicals for the spraying of coffee and cocoa because Government is out to encourage heavy production of these crops.