Botim Farms loses 200 acre mango plantation to bushfire

Speaking to Citi Business News, Yaw Gyan, the Chief Executive Officer of Botim Farms, owner of the Mango Plantation, said this is the first time he’s experiencing this, and that he has no idea how it happened.

He thus called on district authorities to come to his aid.

“The fire has burnt my farm. I don’t know the source of the fire. All that I know is that the fire just entered my farm and has burnt more than 200 acres out of my 300-acre farm. I have been doing this for so many years now. I started this farm as far back as 2010 and this is the first year that I’ve experienced such a thing. I put in every effort to protect the farm. So it is rather unfortunate. I am appealing to the government or anyone that matters who can assist me to help me get the farm onto its feet,” he pleaded.

Fire guts Krachi East MP’s 155-acre mango farm

Last year, a 155-acre farm belonging to the Member of Parliament for Krachi East constituency who doubles as the Deputy Minister for Sanitation, Micheal Gyato, was set ablaze by an unknown person.

Reports suggested the incident was connected to the naming of Dambai as the capital for the newly created Oti Region.

According to firefighters, the Mango farm measuring about 115 acres and teak plantation measuring about 40 acres were set ablaze deliberately.

Mr. Gyato’s farm is one of the largest on the Wurawura to Dambai road, employing about 60 youth of the area.

Fire guts 31 acres of maize farm

Last month, the 2019 National Best maize farmer, Mr. John Dimah, lost 31 acres of his maize farmland to fire in Tumu in the Sissala East District of the Upper West Region.

Speaking in an interview, Mr Dimah said a total of 31 acres were burnt, while he was attending a funeral in Kusali. He said 21-acres were harvested, while 10 other acres were to be harvested before the January 2020 destruction.

He estimated that he harvests about an average of 35 to 40-kilogrammes per acre of the mini bags, thereby resulting in an initial loss of 1,147 mini bags of maize.