General
Source: FOROYAA Newspaper
Women gardeners in Mandinary village in the Kombo North District, West Coast Region, have complained to Foroyaa about the frequent encroachment of stray cattle and goats in their gardens which is causing destruction of their plots. Aja Trawally, one of the complainants/ gardeners, said cattle and goats from the surrounding settlements do frequently enter their gardens to forage on vegetable plants grown on their beds.
She said they have repeatedly complained about these encroachments to the Village Alkalo (Head) to help them put a stop to this destruction of their means of food supplement and earning.
She said the Alkalo has been making efforts to put a stop to it but without success. She said she depends on the gardening to compliment the efforts of her husband in the maintenance of their household. "I used the income derived from selling the produce from my plots in the garden to support the education of my children in paying school fees and buying clothes without even involving my husband."
She concluded by calling on the authorities to help them address this problem. Fatou Bojang, another woman gardener, also lamented the problems that the stray livestock is causing them. She said it is rather pathetic for them to invest all their time, meagre resources and hopes in their small gardens to produce only for the stray livestock to come and eat their plants before harvesting them. "I leave my house at dawn to go to my garden every day or to ask my child to go there to drive away any intruding animal, because if I fail to do so I will end up crying. We are really in need of help," she pleaded. Fatou Yabo, Hawa Kassama, Mba Jai Ceesay, Musukebba Ceesay and Jai Bojang have all expressed similar concerns.
Talking to Faa Ceesay, the Alkalo of Mandinary Village, on the complaints of the women gardeners regarding the livestock entering their gardens and destroying the plants, he confirmed that the women are facing this problem for some time now. He said the problem is caused by the livestock owners who leave their animals to freely wander about and graze in people's gardens.
According to the Alkalo, he and his council of elders have tried all possible means to stop this ongoing destruction caused to the women gardens by the stray cattle and goats but the problem still persists. He said some of the measures they have employed to put a stop to the animal encroachment is to impose fines on owners whose cattle or goats are found in the gardens. He said some women are even contemplating putting poisonous food in the gardens in order just to get rid of the animals. "It is really not easy for these women who are working very hard on their gardens to feed their families from the produce of the gardens and to earn income to help their husbands in maintaining the family," said Alkalo Ceesay. He described the women as very hardworking as they go to the gardens from sun rise to sun set to work on their plots. He also disclosed that the women have attempted other means of preventing the encroachment by erecting fences with local materials but were stopped by the Department of Forestry for cutting down tree branches.
The Alkalo said they are also engaged in consultations with some organisations to help fence the garden for them but this has not yet materialized," he disclosed. "We are therefore appealing for assistance from government, NGOs, horticultural associations and foreign missions to come to the aid of the women in support of their livelihood and that of their families," he concluded. Editors Note: Foroyaa will contact the cattle owners, the council and the department responsible for livestock to find out their response to these concerns. The women should also get a secretary to write letters to Acton Aid, CRS, the embassies and other potential donors.