Farmer loses 80 acres of cashew to bush fire

Correspondence from Bono Region

Mr Emmanuel Twumasi Ankrah, a businessman and a cashew farmer has lost eighty acres of his cashew farm as a result of bush fire.

The hundred acre land of cashew plantation is located at Nsawkaw - Kwakese at the Tain district in the Bono Region of Ghana.

Though the immediate cause of the bush fire has not been well established, it is believed to be associated with human activities, regarding the poor handling of fire at farms.

Mr Emmanuel Twumasi Ankrah, the owner of the cashew plantation, disclosed that he invested fifty thousand euros into this farm only to lose this huge investment at the time that the farm was ready to give him his returns.

The chairman of Concern Farmers Association of Ghana, in the identification of community challenges on Friday, February 12, 2021, made a visit to the site with few members of the association to have first-hand information of the possible causes of the fire.

Nana Obodie Boateng Bonsu, the chairman of Concern Farmers Association of Ghana, in an interview with Ghanaweb's Regional Correspondent, expressed deep worry on this growing menace of a bush fire that continues to be an annual impediment to investors who have the desire to go into farming.

Nana Obodie Boateng cautioned those who go on hunting for bush animals and cattle rearers, particularly cowherds who sometimes hide in the bush to set fire in an attempt to get fresh grasses for their animals to graze on them.

Farmers who set fire at farms to cook must put a stop to this practice during this dry season. Nana Obodie Boateng additionally urged those who have cultivated the bad habit of smoking cigarettes at farms and in the bushes to be mindful of such activities which is a potential cause of bush fires.

A member of the association reminded the public of the 1983 incident that led to a nationwide famine and opined that Ghana could again experience this bizarre moment and called on the district assemblies to come out with by-laws to deal with this annual canker.