Now referred to as backyard farms or compound farms which are considered an ancient activity that existed all over the world and still practised today .According to Kranjac-Berisavljevic and Gandaa , 75% of farmers in the North cultivate yams; this region constitutes the “yam zone” which runs from Cameroon to Ivory Coast supplying about 90% of world’s yams each year—about33.7 million tonnes.Yam farming is not just an economic activity, but it is embedded in the culture and traditions of the people. During communal farming,yam seedlings are exchanged as a sign to appease the gods; these seedlings are believed to possess blessings from the gods and manifest in high yields .Apart from yams, cereals like sorghum, millet and guinea corn are also cultivated in this region, and livestock rearing takes place . These activities are reflected in the stories narrated by for example the cob of maize and a hundreds laves.
In this tale, the Dagomba people were visited by a god who lost hisson during his sojourn with them. To sympathise with him, they offered himabundant maize as compensation. This tale shows the hospitality of the Dagomba people showcasing one of their main staple crops and economic activities already practised at that time. These agricultural activities were mainly for subsistence,where surpluses were sold to get other needed goods in the regional and local markets especially along the Salaga slave market route .The main ways of cultivating land in the pre-colonial era were through bush fallowing and shifting cultivation explained by Blench . He stated that bush farms were cultivated for three to four years and when it showed signs of low productivity this land was left to fallow and another area chosen for farming.This token often came in the form of a kola nut after which aritual is performed to bless the land. Then the new owner gets “use right” to the land, grow table which he can pass on from generation to another.
The Linguist—the spokesman of the Zagyuri chief, during an interview, stated that during the pre-colonial times, when a person requested for a piece of land for farming, physical objects like trees and stones were used as boundary markers.A mark was usually put on these objects to indicate where a land boundarystrated or ended. This was a way to make the land legible and easy to manage by the chief. It was also an act of grounding claims. Access to land was not a problem as land was in abundance—strangers were also given lands for farming and housing with use rights. When a stranger decided to leave an area of land acquired traditionally, he forfeits all investments made on the land. He was not authorised to sell the land or the investments on it because the land was not sold to him. He was expected to give the land back to the chief who gave him use rights over it. In the case of indigenes, the use rights on the land can be passed on from one generation to another, or if the indigene wants to leave the area, he can give the land to another indigene or relative after the chief has been informed and agrees to these new arrangements.Land access was through the men in the households and women could only get access to land through them. This practice solidified the status of men as the decision makers in the community and society as a whole. Rituals and libations were poured on land for cleansing, an activity performed by the traditional institutions which constituted of mostly men.
These rituals and sacrifices transformed the land into a spiritual being, through which one communicates with his ancestors. The above explaination is one of the reasons why lands are allocated and not sold in this region. This tradition is now dying out as lands are now being “sold” by chiefs for personal gain especially with the increasing value of land due to urbanisation .Farmers in Sangani during a focus group discussion said this vegetable site is a sacred shrine. Their ancestors have been performing rituals and sacrifices to their gods, before the coming of the Europeans. There is a natural spring on this land and a big kapok tree , where these rituals take place. Ananimal is killed by the spring water and later grilled, and eaten under the kapok tree, as no sacrificial meat had to leave the sacred grounds.