Fires hurting farmers

THE RECENT UPSURGE in grass fires has been burning a hole in the pockets of farmers.
And should the fields of grass continue to burn, the impact might also soon be felt on the palates of Barbadians.
With scores of fires taxing the energies of personnel from the Barbados Fire Service daily, president of the Barbados Dairy and Beef Producers’ Association, Brian Allan, said farmers, especially those in St Philip and Christ Church, were particularly hard hit.
Though their farms have remained untouched by the fire bugs, Allan said the fields of grass on which farmers rely, usually idle lands or those which have been taken out of sugar production, were now no longer available.