The rich beautiful and fertile land of the sissala
people is really a blessing from the almighty. Until recently, the people
farmed without the application of chemical fertilizers on their farms. Very
good harvests are made season after season regardless of what one sows. The land
is also quite easy to till even if it’s a virgin land one is working on for the
first time.
Sissala land is located in the Guinea Savannah
vegetation belt of the northern part of Ghana, the upper west region. The vegetation consists of grasses with
scattered fire resistant trees such as the sheanut, the baobab and dawadawa
trees. Acacia is also a common tree of this vegetation belt. The heterogeneous
collections of these trees meet domestic requirements for firewood and
charcoal, construction of houses, cattle kraals and fencing of gardens. The shorter shrubs and grasses provide fodder
for livestock. These activities need to be enhanced by providing the
appropriate means of transport for them.
But they have to be appropriately controlled and managed if the
environment is to be sustained. The sheanut
tree is one of the great economic assert of the District and head portage has
been the most common means of transporting the fruits from the farm to the
house. The climate of the Sissala East District is tropical continental as
experienced in the northern regions of Ghana.
Throughout the year, temperatures are high with a minimum of 23°C at
night and a maximum of 42°C during the day and this favours plant growth. The
mean monthly temperature ranges between 21°C and 32°C. The highest monthly maximum
temperature rises up to 40°C before the rainy season in May with lowest minimum
temperature falling to about 12°C in December when the Harmattan winds from the
Sahara dries up the vegetation.
The rainfall type which is conventional in nature is
characterized by a single rainy season from May to September/October. That is
five to six months with the total number of rain ranging between 70 to 80 days
with a mean annual rainfall of about 121mm as recorded in Tumu station in 1999,
with extreme annual rainfall ranging between 397mm and 635mm. As a result of
the single maximum rainfall prevailing in the district all year round, crop
production is mostly done during the rainy season.
Grains, cereals, legumes and tubers are the major
group of crops cultivated by the people across the land. The huge quantities of
food stuffs that leave the land every year is worth millions of cedis if
properly valued. One wonders why the people of the land claim poverty when
surrounded by such riches indebted in their soil. Until recently, most of the
farmers practiced substantial farming producing just enough to feed their
households through the year and sell a little for cash. Chemical fertilizers
were hardly used on these farms. Due to the vastness of the land, the method of
shifting cultivation and land fallow is equally practiced even though fading,
some of the communities still practice it. A handful of the people practiced
commercial farming system in those days. These were the few rich with tractors
and the ability to hire labour to work on their farms.
With the inception of masara n arziki in the land
about three years back, farming has been elevated to a different level in the
land and most people are now into commercial farming. In fact, farming is now a
big time investment and people are making it big time. The production of maize
has champion the activities of the majority of the farmers in the land. They
people of the land now produce maize beyond any ones imagination and this can
be attested by many in the land. In addition, masara n arziki has been so
successful that within three years of operation in the land, the company has
built a very huge warehouse to curb the long overdue problem of storage faced
by many farmers and the company within its few years of operations. Maize
production has been made so easy and simple that most farmers now enjoy the fruit
of their labour as all benefits and actual prize of the commodity is paid
to all those registered with the company
during the farming season. The activities of middlemen are now a thing of the
past for the people of the land. At the beginning of every farming season, it
is now the desire of every farmer to get himself registered and produce for the
company as it’s almost free because the company ploughs the lands, provide
improved seeds and fertilizers and other chemicals necessary for maximum
output.
Yam, another staple food of the people is also
cultivated in great quantities in some communities of the land. Yam produce
here are very good and free from chemical fertilizers and can be stored for a
very long time without getting spoiled. Farmers equally earn good income from
the sales of these yam as the commodity is quite expense these days. Yam
farmers at the farm gates and communities complain bitterly about the way they
lose much income to middlemen. It is very tedious to cultivate and as such
deserve good prizes for it, they claim.
Cotton production is another area where the people
benefit financially until. Over the past few years, the production of cotton
has drastically declined due to the dissatisfaction of farmers during the
buying season. All the same, some farmers still cultivate the crop to feed the
gin factory situated in the land. The proceeds of sheanuts also generate some
cash for the people.
The breeding of animals is also a major investment
for the people. Cattle, sheep, goats and pigs breed very well. The number of
kraals that spread across the land indicates the significance of these animals
to the people. Birds such as chicken and guinea fowls rearing are also a common
thing in every household. Interestingly, most of these animals are reared using
the extensive system.
The extent to which the rewards of these practices
have been of enormous benefit to the people can’t be quantified though the
illiteracy rate is quite high among the sissalas. Just as riches were measured
in terms of the number of animals or the harvest in ancient times, so it is in
this land.
With the introduction of some modern practices, much
more value can be added to what already exists in the land. Farm machinery such
as tractors, harvesters and storage facilities would boost production
significantly and improve the livelihood of the people.
