Agriculture thrives on forest cover - Dep CEO
Mr. Nyadia Sulemana Nelson assists with planting trees
Mr. Nadia Sulemana Nelson assists with planting trees
Mr. Nyadia Sulemana Nelson, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Forestry Commission, instructed the people of Ghana to develop a practice of planting trees to replant degraded areas and forest cover to reduce the challenges of climate change and improve agricultural production.
You have seen that the forests and vegetation of the country are declining rapidly due to human actions and other related events and this situation has an impact on the environment and directly affects food production.
"We are an agricultural economy, especially in Northern Ghana, agriculture is thriving through forestry, so if there is no forest, there is no food, which is why the Green Ghana campaign is very important," he said.
Speaking in Bolgatanga, Upper East Province, as part of activities to celebrate Ghana's Green Day, Mr. Nelson noted that Ghana has lost much of its grass over the past 30 years due to urbanization, construction work, firewood, and illegal mining among others.
He said little had been done to rehabilitate lost trees and reverse the situation and there was a need to implement strategies to restore forest reserves.
He said that apart from contributing to the challenges of climate change, conserving wildlife, and promoting tourism, the forest is a source of food, nutrition, and income, thus improving the lives of vulnerable people.
He, therefore, appealed to the youth to embrace tree planting as a good community behavior and to contribute to good farming practices.
“It is the faithful people who believe in Jehovah who plants trees because when you plant mangoes you do not know if you will live and eat from that mango, if you plant mangoes you cannot say whether you will eat it. sit under the shade of that tree, so those who plant the tree are very loyal to the people, ”he added.
Mr. Stephen Yakubu, Minister for the Upper East Region, said the rapid desertification in the Sahel region was a cause for concern and noted that the Green Ghana program was an effective strategy to combat the situation.
Mr. Yakubu emphasized the need for all stakeholders to co-operate with the project to replant lost forests and degraded areas.
“The importance of rehabilitating forest cover is wide and varied, it varies in economic, social, health, and cultural thinking. In the era of high-cost Liquefied Petroleum Gas, the need to invest in timber sources to serve as an alternative to fuel cannot be underestimated, ”he said.
Pe Ditundini Adiali Ayagitam III, President of the Upper East Region House of Chiefs, called on the government to give traditional leaders the power to punish those who destroy the environment and added that this would prevent others from cutting down trees.
Pe Ayagitam, who is also the Head of the Chiana Traditional Area, noted that all the traditional councils in the region were instructed to make the land available for the project and to collect 5,000 seedlings each to encourage its people to plant trees.
This year's commemoration, "Promoting a Green Future" has set a goal of uniting the people of Ghana to plant 20 million trees nationwide.
In this regard, the Upper East region has been given the goal of planting 650,000 trees.
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