Landowners, Tenants Hold Forum

A forum aimed at ensuring a healthy relationship between stool landowners and tenant farmers to promote agricultural development in the Adansi South District of Ashanti has been held at New Edubiase in the Ashanti Region.    The forum was organised at the instance of the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands in collaboration with the Adansi South District Assembly to find a lasting solution to a misunderstanding between the landlords and the tenant farmers.
    
Chiefs from the seven divisions in the Adansi Traditional Council, led by its acting President, Nana Asiama Guahyia Ababio and over 200 tenant farmers attended the forum.
 
Mr Patrick Amoah, Western Regional Stool Lands Officer, who spoke on 'Landlords-Tenants Relationship', regretted that the laws governing the rules and responsibilities of both landlords and tenants were not being observed.
    
 He reminded chiefs that stool lands were not for sale and that farmers should be weary of any land transactions.   Mr Amoah emphasised the need for the tenant farmers to pay rents to signify that the land was not for them.
    
 The Western Regional Stool Lands Officer advised the tenants to inform chiefs on the event of the death or otherwise of the original tenant.    Mr Amoah stressed on mutual understanding and co-operation between the landowners and the tenant farmers to promote agriculture in the area and the country in general.
     
Mrs Christie Bobobee, Ashanti Regional Stool Lands Officer, said it was important for landlords and tenant farmers to co-exist since 'there will be no landlord when there is no tenant and vice versa'.    She was hopeful that in the spirit of the forum, the tenant farmers would ensure that all arrears and current rent were paid to enhance peace and unity between the Administrator, chiefs and the farmers.
    
 Mr Francis Dorpenyoh, District Chief Executive, said the district had been peaceful but 'beneath the peace was an uneasy tension between the tenant farmers and the stool land owners'.
     
He commended the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands for initiating the forum to iron out all differences existing between the tenant farmers and the landlords.

 The Member of Parliament (MP) for New Edubiase, Mr Kofi Yakah, advised that issues on tenancy should be left to the Stool Lands Administrators since they were there to ensure peaceful co-existence between chiefs and the tenant farmers to promote agriculture.
    
 Mr Philip Bediako, Adansi South Stool Lands Officer, who spoke to the GNA appealed to the assembly members to educate their electorate on the payment of ground rent apart from the property rates to help the Administrator to achieve its set target.