Galamseyers claim gold is more important than maize as they weed out farm

A recent viral video has sparked controversy, showing a group of galamseyers, illegal gold miners, weeding out maize plants on a farm, asserting that gold is far more valuable than maize.

The video, widely circulated on social media, captures the miners joyfully singing while removing maize plants, with one individual standing by as a voice in the background speaking in Twi.

"If you have money in the land, why would you come and plant maize on it?" the voice asks. "We want gold money to spend and you are talking about maize. Where will maize get you? Even a bag, how much does it cost? We don’t buy maize with dollars, but we use dollars to buy gold."

The video has drawn sharp criticism from various quarters, with many condemning the galamseyers' disregard for agricultural activities and food security.

Bio Foster (@_mrbio) tweeted, "They forgot that if they weed finish, dig out the gold and feel hungry, it’s the crops they cut down that they will need to eat."

Similarly, Adankoɛ (@leslie_kkkay) expressed concerns about the impact of such activities on food production, tweeting, "The land has been sold to them or what? There should be farmland that shouldn't be touched for galamsey no matter what. The areas earmarked for mining. If there’s a need for expansion of either, you get extra land for food production, then there's no loss. But this, hmm."

However, some voices have argued in favour of the miners’ actions. Alan Kyerematen (@GhanaSocialUni) commented, "But if they are getting billions of Ghana cedis from gold, why shouldn’t they destroy the maize farm? Isn’t that what AngloGold and others also do?"

One user, FAN OF MESSI-NALDO (@ISLIONHEARTZ), succinctly said, "When they are hungry, they should chew the gold."

The incident underscores the broader issues of land use, economic priorities, and food security in regions affected by galamsey operations.