THE EFFECTS OF BUSHFIRES ON FOOD SECURITY IN THE SISSALA EAST DISTRICT

Abstract

This study was conducted on the effects of bushfires on food security in the Sissala East District of Ghana. The sample size was two hundred and ninety one(291) respondents out of which two hundred and eighty six (286) respondents responded to the instrument forming a response rate of 95 percent using a simple random sampling technique to select the respondents for the study. The objectives of the study were; to assess the factors that cause bushfires, to find out the effects of bushfires on production levels of farmers, assess the effects of bushfires on food security in the Sissala East District, to find out earlier interventions to minimize bushfires in the study area and finally to find out the constraints to bushfires prevention as well as measures that can be adopted to reduce the menace in the Sissala East District. The study revealed that there were several factors that cause bushfires in the Sissala East District which majority of them stated Fulani herdsmen and the activities of hunters as the major causes and others such as unattended fires from adjoining communities, charcoal burners, indiscriminate disposal of cigarette butts and arsonists who at times set fire on farms. The study revealed that bushfires affects food production levels of farmers resulting in transitory food insecurity in the Sisaala East District since many of the affected people could only have food for four to five months after harvest, and that some interventions such as community bushfire volunteers squads, creating of fire belts around farms, and regular bushfire sensitization could minimize the occurrence of bushfires and the enactment and enforcement of bye-laws could also reduce the constraints of bushfires prevention in the SissalaEast District. The study recommended that the District Assembly and the Traditional Authority should enact bye laws to regulate the activities ofFulani herdsmen, hunters slash and burn agriculture as well as charcoal burners and severe sanctions to culprits of bushfires.