Programs Officer for Civic Response Ghana, Elvis Oppong-Mensah, has intimated that it is dangerous to carry out farming activities on mined lands.
Mr. Oppong explained that it poses danger because of the amount of chemicals used in these mining activities and hence cautioned the public against the usage of such lands. He stated that mercury and other chemicals used in mining seep into the soil and contaminates food crops planted on such lands.
“Once soil is mixed with chemicals like mercury and others, planting foodstuff on it for consumption is dangerous. Because, the chemicals make the food poisonous and this is why;we have heard of some countries trying to ban cocoa from being exported from Ghana into their countries.”
Elvis Oppong-Mensah
He noted that chemicals like mercury are also essential in the processing of the gold,;hence there is no way they can decide to quit using them because of the safety of the environment. Explaining what the mercury is used for, he stated that when the gold is dug out, the mercury is needed to polish it up;so that the raw gold can be separated from the soil.
According to him, the mercury mixing with the soil is what makes the soil poisonous and unfit for crop planting. He therefore insisted that it is totally unsafe for one to undertake agricultural activities on reclaimed mined lands.
Mined lands cannot recover
Mr. Oppong-Mensah also disclosed that lands destroyed by mining cannot recover its quality. He explained that due to the chemical usage in the mining activities the soil cannot regain its old qualities.
“There is no way you can regain a land and get it back to its original status;and it’s a fact. It’s not possible. There has been a saying that when you regain a land, you can use it for agricultural purposes but it’s a lie. That is dangerous.”
Elvis Oppong-Mensah
The Programs Manager then suggested that the reclaimed lands should be used for tree planting activities.
“At best, the only thing you can use such a mercury infested land for is a tree plantation;because using it for farming food crops is dangerous.”
Elvis Oppong-Mensah
He disclosed that when deep mining was being practiced initially, the land was still safe for cultivating food crops “but with surface mining now the trend, we need to start thinking through these options; do we need surface mining or agriculture?”
He then urged the Ghanaian populace to do a cost benefit analysis between mining and farming to see which has a bigger potential to grow the country’s economy.
The Civic Response Program Manager further emphasized that agriculture employs more than 60 percent of the country’s workforce with a lesser number being employed under mining.
“Let us look at both and make the smart decision.”
Elvis Oppong-Mensah
The act of illegal mining in Ghana has raised numerous concerns amongst the populace as the menace is now destroying the environment, especially water bodies and land resources. With the populace raising oppositions to these mining practices, the government is taking critical steps to address the menace.
