A fire break has destroyed approximately 12 acres of mango farm in Okwenya, a suburb of Somanya, in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region.
The mango farm, which occupies a total of 25 acres, suffered losses amounting to over GHc100,000.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Abubakari Musah of the Somanya Fire Service said they received a distress call at 11:20 AM last week from the farm owner, who alerted them that the mango farm was ablaze.
Office of the Ghana National Fire Service quickly mobilised a team to the scene, and successfully bringing the fire under control and extinguishing it.
Mr Musah noted that the farmer operated a medium-scale piggery farm on the same land.
Fortunately, the fire did not affect the piggery. After questioning the farmer about the fire’s cause, Mr Musah was informed that the owner had killed a snake and burned it in a location where the pig waste was mixed with sawdust.
The farmer thought that once the snake was burnt, there was no risk of fire spreading, not realising that the fire could smoulder under the sawdust and extend to nearby bushes.
He said, “due to the ongoing harmattan, the dry weeds facilitated the slow spread of the fire to the surrounding area, eventually consuming the mango farm.
“Despite their attempts to extinguish the flames, the situation escalated, prompting them to contact the Ghana National Fire Service.”
“Thankfully, we managed to save the remaining 13 acres from destruction.”
Mr Musah emphasised the importance of exercising caution during fire-related activities, especially in dry weather conditions.
He urged farmers to implement precautionary measures and create fire belts on their properties to prevent the spread of fires between farms.
GNA
