Rice farmers in Gbedembilsi in the Builsa district of the Upper East Region are counting their losses after fire destroyed over 250 acres of their rice farms. Over 3,000 bags of rice have been destroyed in the blaze which started on Tuesday and continued Thursday. According to the farmers, they were getting ready to process the rice when the fire started. One of the grieving farmers, Alidu Nuhu, told Joy News Seth Kwame Boateng not even a bowl of rice could be salvaged from the farm. He was worried about how to raise money to pay back a loan he took to invest in the farm. This is the second such tragedy to hit the farmers. The first, about four months ago, saw entire farms submerged in flood waters. Builsa District Agric Director Martin Alhassan told Joy News frequent fire outbreaks on farms is a major problem the district is having to contend with. He said despite aggressive education campaigns for farmers to be extra careful, fires on the farms had become a ritual. “Because the place is very dry, the rice is very dry, when the fire comes, it becomes difficult to bring under control,” he said. District Chief Executive for the area Nobert Awuli hints of plans to give the farmers loans so they can recover from the disaster. Source: Joy News/Ghana