In the current dispensation where technology has taken the centre stage in almost every facet of life, including farming and other labour-intensive work, there are those who still resort to the old ways of satisfying their needs due to their modest earnings.
Many farmers in Northern Ghana still rely on donkeys for tilling their farmlands, ploughing, carting their produce to market centres, fetching water and other household chores.
However, the increasing demand for the exportation of donkey-hide and its parts to China where the skin is said to be used in making anti-ageing and cosmetic products is largely threatening the survival of the species in Upper West Region.
Aside the region and Ghana as a whole, the phenomenon is also widely reported to be prevalent in other West African countries as well.
According to farmers and donkey owners who spoke to us, the rising demand for the meat, skin and other body parts of donkeys by the Chinese, poses a serious risk to the donkey population and potentially pushing the species towards extinction.
According to them, should this happen, it has the potential to disrupt local economies and the agricultural sector as a whole, which would negatively impact on livelihoods of farmers and communities which depend on them for survival.
Dr. Sulemana Sako, Upper West Regional Director of Veterinary Services in an interview said, “From a recent census, we did in the year 2023, it was 2,492 donkeys. We slaughter donkeys for our own consumption, but the slaughter was sustainable. But now the Chinese high demand for donkey skins, the slaughter increased and with this one, the number of donkeys has reduced.”
For more insight on the phenomenon, Ibrahim A. Wangara pitched camp at Niator, a farming Community in the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region noted as one of the fastest growing donkey hubs in the region with over 1,260 donkey species as at 2023.
“I used to have 50 donkeys out of which 15 died due to a strange sickness. Over here, we used them in our farming since we don’t eat the meat. The bigger donkeys are sold around GHC900.00 and GHC1,000.00 and sometimes more, depending on the size. But the smaller ones are sold between GHC600.00 to GCHC700.00. There’s a little attention given to the donkey species,” Bashiru Baayor, a farmer from the community averred.
Nlowie Abdul-Majeed, a community focal person, also speaking to us said that in recent times, those with the financial muscle to afford tricycles for their work and farming activities hardly rely on donkeys for their labour.
Dr. Sulemana Sako further indicated that although the Ministry of Food and Agriculture placed a ban on the indiscriminate slaughtering and export of donkeys, the situation persists due to lack of enforcement, calling for stringent measures at the ports.
“Ghana placed the ban in 2016 and that ban needs to be enforced. And we’re also saying that donkeys are still being slaughtered clandestinely and their skins are exported out of Ghana. So, they should enhance the checks at the ports so that if they know the skin cannot go out, the slaughtering would not happen,” Dr. Sako appealed to authorities.
In its May 2022 report, the Donkey Sanctuary stated that there is a vast online network of organized criminals offering donkey skins for sale often alongside other illegal wildlife products including rhino horns, pangolin scales, elephant ivories and tiger hides.
Until authorities re-strategize and do more to protect the donkey population to safeguard the livelihoods of thousands of people who depend on the animals for their livelihoods, poor northern farmers who cannot afford the services of modern machinery for their farming will continue to suffer.
By Ibrahim A. Wangara