An out of control bush-fire swept through a mango plantation in the Kumbungu district of the northern region last Thursday destroying several hectares, authorities said.
The distraught owner of the Muaze Agro-forest situated along the Tamale-Kumbungu road, 84-year-old Alhaji Muaz Yahaya, lamented the indiscriminate burning of bush, saying the practice destroys flora and fauna.
Alhaji Muaz’s mango plantation which covers eleven hectares is twenty-seven years old, with over thousand mango trees. Three hectares were burnt. Sadly, this is the first time it has recorded a fire outbreak.
This economic venture, Alhaji Muaz said, is profitable, disclosing that it earns him thousands of Ghanaian cedis annually. He therefore urged the youth to see farming as a business venture rather than a punishment. He added that the first man on earth, Adam, was a farmer and that was why God in His infinite wisdom kept Adam in the Garden of Eden.
Alhaji Muaz asked teachers not to scare students from farming since students are made to weed in school as a form of deterrent. He also appealed to the media to continue to educate chiefs so that they could hold the culprits responsible.
By; Fuseini Dawuda Neindow/zaaradio.com