Mother Earth in the Grass fields of Cameroon Bleeds Because of Bush Fires and Burning

“Burning to Fight Grass at the Mercy of Nature”

The culture or practice of burning to get rid of Grass in the grass fields of Cameroon is an old time instituted tradition most especially when it comes to farming locally or getting rid of Grass on the hills for fresh ones to shoot for cows.

The exercise entails settings fire on a hill, in a bush or forests by grazers or nomads at the beginning of each dry season, to secure or prepare the hills for fresh hay to shoot for their cows when rains come.

Coming to farming, generally most farmers in the grass fields clear their farms locally by burning. This is done in two ways either by burning down grass from the farm land or burning cleared grass in covered heaps with soil in what we call the slash and burn practice for “Ankaras”.

After burning the common and usual consideration is that, it prepares the soil easily for hoeing, gives good yields and also prepares the hills for green grass to sprout for their cows caring less of the damage.

This burning exercise, it must be noted is done every dry season and you can imagine the damage it causes the soil, the amount of air pollution and the environmental hazards it causes.

Bush fires and burning to farm locally and secure fresh grass for cows this days are so challenging with the ever growing population and the increased pressure on land in the North West.

The pressure is so much such that after the continues burning, the grass field man has resorted to soil additives  (fertilizers or chemicals) which is helping to poison the soil more after burning all micro organisms and substance in the soil.

All of these clandestine attitude of the Bamenda man on the soil and the hills is to catch up with dwindling yields, the increased need for food and hay for cows at the mercy of nature protection and pollution.

At the verge of every dry season in the North West, it is very common placed not to breed in good or pure air because the atmosphere is intoxicated or saturated by smoke coming from bush fire from the hills, Ankara in the farms, or dust from the harsh winds blowing.

This is the time an average Bamenda man suffers from all type of air borne diseases, cardiac arrest and intestinal infections. More onto that the first harvest from the ankaras gives running stomach, just like the first fresh grass from the hills gives stomach complications to the cows.

Nature’s situation in the grass field is one seriously affected by bush fire at all levels. When the Bamenda man burns the hills, the bush is also burnt, games or animals burnt, Mico organisms and decomposed leaves burnt, water sources and catchment exposed to the direct impacts of the sun, hence water shortage as a result of bush fire.

In effect, this act or behavior of the Bemenda man towards nature can be likened to “foolishly burning a forest to catch a squirrel”. Is it not ridiculous and how environmentally friendly is the act?

The future of the environment in the North West from all indication has been mud gauged. Extreme situations are now order of the day all because of rampant bush fires and farming by burning.

Which is exactly one of the direct or indirect contributions to global warming. Rat moles, grass cutters, antelopes, bush pigs, weaver birds, parrots etc are getting extinct.

Time is against the Bamenda man and all must be done as fast as possible to cause perpetrators of bush fire and the crude burning farming practices to stop. Hope some one hear us now to avoid future embarrassment from nature.

“Every day in life is a turning or open page in history. Meaning, every action influences another either positively or negatively”. Time for great reckoning is now. Abusive behavior over the environment and nature must be tamed or we shall have ourselves to blame subsequently for harboring this necessary evil, "farming by burning or clearing grass using bush fire for hay".