By Elorm Yao Aryee
About 100 acres of cashew farmlands belonging to an agro-investment firm, Tesyd Farms Limited, at Vakpo Dzogbega in the North Dayi District of the Volta Region have been destroyed by wild bushfire.
The farmlands form part of the firm’s 1,000-acre cashew plantation in the area.
Farm managers suspect the inferno was caused by the activities of hunters in the area.
The wildfire is reported to have started before sunset on Friday, consuming even the fire belt on the 100 acre cashew field.
The Assistant Farm Manager, Patrick Denka, stated in an interview with GBC News that all efforts to control the fire from spreading across the field proved futile due to its intensity.
He noted that most of the cashew trees which were destroyed by the fire had bear fruit and were ready for harvesting.
Mr Denka said staff have constantly cautioned hunters in the area not to set fire anywhere near the plantation, to no avail.
The owner of Tesyd Farms, Samuel Kofi Dzamesi, disclosed in an interview with GBC News that his company has a loss of about 1.5 million Ghana Cedis, the monetary value of the cashew nuts which were destroyed by the fire.
He stated that despite the loss, he is not discouraged in his quest to create jobs and opportunities through agriculture for the youth in the relatively agrarian community.
Mr Dzamesi, however, bemoaned that insurance companies are unwilling to insure plantations like his and urged government to intervene in that direction.
He said, though he does not suspect arson, he had filed a complaint for the Police in the area to investigate to unravel who the perpetrators are. Mr Dzamesi lauded the chiefs and people of Vakpo for their support, which has culminated in the growth of Tesyd Farms.
