The Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Ophelia Mensah Hayford, has applauded the government for the implementation of the Ghana Landscape Restoration Project, which has given hope to the abandoned lands in or off the forest reserves to regain their strength.
According to her, the survival and well-being of human beings depend on a conducive environment.
Hence, the initiative taken by the sector to ensure the planting of trees on the deformed lands to restore and enable them to become profitable for the country.
Ophelia Mensah Hayford who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Mfantseman Constituency in the Central Region made this known when speaking to the cross-section with the pressmen during her working visit tour to inspect the trees being planted in both forest reserve and off-forest reserve at the Mpraeso Forestry Service Division in the Eastern Region on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.
She was very much impressed with the work being executed by the Mpraeso Forestry Service Division in all the 3 forest reserves in the area; namely, Northern Scarp West, Southern Scarp, and Off forest reserves, respectively.
The Minister, in furtherance, reaffirms the government’s commitment to restoring every abandoned and destroyed land across the country, observing the steps will be beneficial to the unborn generation.
“The Ghana Landscape Restoration Project would augment President Akufo Addo’s green Ghana initiative and indicate that these two major projects would save our collapsing forests in the country,” she noted.
She added that tree planting should be a collective responsibility rather than leaving the fight to the government only.
The Mpraeso Forestry Manager, Neequaye Kusakyen, mentioned that since 2022, his District has planted 1,230 hectares of trees, which is equivalent to 2,500 acres.
He also commended the government for such an initiative and assured Ophelia Hayford, the sector minister, that they would plant more trees to save dying forest reserves in the area.
The team also visited some farmers who have blended tree planting with their farms to educate them on what is demanded of them to harvest more crops.
Kingsley Kwako Amoako of the Directorate of Crop Services at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture urged the farmers not to burn the weeds after clearing their farms, stating that it helps the crops to grow well.
“If they burn the weeds, it kills the nutrients in the soil, and it may cause the farmer to harvest fewer crops,” he noted.
By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.
Source// Obohnewsonline.com.
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