Fire has ravaged over 100 acres of the 1000-acre cashew farm located in Vakpo Dzogbega, within the North Dayi District of the Volta Region.
This farm, considered the largest cashew enterprise in the country, faces an estimated loss of GHC1.5 million due to the destructive blaze.
According to Mr. Patrick Denka, the Assistant Farm Manager, the fire struck just as the cashew trees were beginning to bear fruit.
The wildfire, suspected to be caused by hunters, occurred on February 16 around 1500 hours, resulting in the loss of more than 4,000 matured cashew trees. Mr. Denka expressed concern that the surviving trees may yield lower quantities in the future.
The devastation was evident, with numerous trees bearing ripe fruits completely consumed by the flames, as observed by the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
The Chief Executive Officer of the Bui Power Authority, Mr. Kofi Dzamesi, which owns the farm, lamented the setback caused by the fire, emphasizing the potential losses of GHC1.5 million.
He reported the incident to the police and hoped for the cooperation of traditional leaders to prevent such incidents in the future.
Expressing frustration about the lack of insurance coverage for crop farmers in the country, Mr. Dzamesi urged the government to step in and support farm enterprises against fire and other potential losses.
“I don’t know if its out of ignorance or sheer wickedness. What we know is that the chiefs are behind us. They gave us the land and we will seek their intervention to address the issue of bush burning,” he said.
“It is difficult to get insurance companies to insure farms, and so the State must come in to support large scale farms”.
He emphasized the difficulty in securing insurance for farms and called for state intervention to safeguard large-scale agricultural operations.