58,000 Farmers Benefit From Land Restoration Project

Ophelia Mensah Hayford (right) with other officials on one of the farms

 

A total of 58,000 farmers across eight regions are benefitting from a land restoration project aimed at sustaining agriculture productivity and addressing small-scale mining issues in the country.

The Ghana Landscape and Restoration of Small-Scale Mining Project, (GLRSSMP) is being implemented in 26 districts targeting 582 communities.

Under the project, old cocoa trees are being replaced with new ones, accompanied by massive afforestation exercises in forest reserves.

Funded with a loan from World Bank, grant from Progreen and Global Environment Facility, the Project is divided into two thematic areas namely:  Landscape restoration which is under the supervision of Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, (MESTI), and the small scale mining being manned by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ophelia Mensah Hayford, disclosed this when she met with farmers at Kwabeng in the Asante Akyem South Municipality of the Ashanti Region.

She and her team were in the community to interact with direct beneficiaries for feedback on the project implementation.

Madam Mensah Hayford, who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Mfantsiman, disclosed that the government aims to restore lands which have been degraded, hence the introduction of the project.

According to the legislator, the government is well aware of the devastating impact of climate change on farmers hence the introduction of the project.

“We know that the world is battling climate change, following human activities that have affected rainfall patterns and the weather. As such, we have to undertake measures to reverse this development for a good climate and thereby predicting right and doing right.

The project coordinator for Ghana, Isaac Charles Acquah, stated that the project objective is to sustain Ghana’s natural resources, under the care of communities.

Agriculture Focal Person for the project, Kingsley Kwako Amoako said the project aims to replace moribund cocoa trees with new ones which can produce more fruits.

He noted that replacing such trees come at a cost so the government decided to support farmers in replacing these aged trees.

Most of the farmers who spoke to DAILY GUIDE expressed appreciation for the replanting of cocoa trees and thanked the government for the initiative.

FROM David Afum, Kumasi

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