Asueyi, (B/A), March 1, GNA - Fire has completely engulfed an eight-acre fruited cashew plantation at Grotto near Asueyi in the Techiman Municipality. Mr Kwame Ameyaw, owner of the cashew farm, who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), attributed the outbreak of the fire to group of hunters.

Mr Ameyaw said, whilst in the farm last Saturday busily harvesting some of the cashew, six group hunters with their dogs surfaced in the area on hunting expedition. He said, even though he was alone, he was not afraid of them and their dogs and went ahead and questioned them about the consequences of their activities and the ban on group hunting in the area, "but they did not mind me"

Mr Ameyaw said he harvested about two bags of cashew and left for home at about 1730 hours, only to come the following day to see the whole farm completely destroyed by fire. He put the estimated cost of the destroyed plantation to be more than 150 million cedis and said he could not immediately identify the hunters but suspected that they might have come from Jema/Temponim. He appealed to the Government, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and Non-Governmental Organizations and the Municipal Assembly to help him rehabilitate the destroyed eight-acre cashew farm.