Tamale, Jan. 21, GNA - Livestock farmers in the Northern Region on Tuesday appealed to the government to, as a matter of urgency, to adopt a more regulated approach to address the cross border movement of Fulani herdsmen to ensure sanity in the livestock industry in the country. They said the way Fulani herdsmen were entering the country indiscriminately without any mechanism put in place to regulate them were impacting negatively on the country's livestock since they infect animals in Ghana with disease and indulge in criminal activities. Mr. Nasiru Kadir, secretary to the Northern Region Livestock Farmer Association (NORLFA), said this at a one day seminar in Tamale to discuss ways of streamlining the livestock industry. The seminar was also meant to see how best the association could lobby through chiefs to address the problem of bush burning and to curb the influx of the Fulani herdsmen.

Mr. Kadir said the persistent and militant Fulani herdsmen, whose cattle were overgrazing and spreading diseases, threatened the very survival of the livestock industry in the northern sector and the country as a whole.

He said the government could address the problem by empowering Immigration and CEPS officials at the country's borders with tools such as patrol vehicles and arms to enable them effectively patrol to ensure that herdsmen used approved routes. Mr. Sylverster Adongo, Northern Regional Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, said the problem of Fulani herdsmen had existed for over 20 years but had assumed an alarming rate with reported lost of lives in 2003.

He said there was the need to rehabilitate the quarantine stations to ensure that the alien cattle were examined and declared healthy before being allowed into the country.