A 250-acre farm in Hain in the Jirapa Municipality was destroyed by wildfire on Saturday, November 18, 2023.
Photos of the destruction show an endless tract of maize sticks without cobs and a heap of burnt cobs on one side of the field.
The owners, Balaara and Sons are still quantifying the monetary value of the loss.
Wildfires are often a common occurrence during this time of the year, which has prompted some chiefs in parts of Northern Ghana to outlaw any activities that lead to the burning of bushes.
In Ghana the peak fire season typically begins in mid-November and lasts around 14 weeks. There were 9,876 VIIRS fire alerts reported between 14th of November 2022 and 13th of November 2023 considering high confidence alerts only.
For the period studied, nearly all fires were human-caused, and most arose through land use activities such as farming or hunting or from other activities such as charcoal production carried out in the forest. Other causes may include smoking and cooking on the farm.
