Accra, June 9, GNA – The Ghana Federation of Forest and Farm Producers (GhaFFaP) has taken a giant step towards contributing to the global ambitious target of regenerating degraded lands by planting and nurturing trees in Ghana.
The group, with a membership of one million, has tasked each of its members to plant and nurture at least a tree.
Mr Abdul-Rahman Mohammed, the President of GhaFFaP, speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra after receiving species of nursery seedlings for planting, said the move fed into the government’s agenda of planting five million trees nationwide starting from June 11.
The species include orchid trees also known as mountain ebony, acacia, adenathera, cashew, mahogany, taatso, lignum, cedrala and polyalthia.
He said many of its members, especially those in the northern parts of the country were experiencing low yields as a result of low rains and unproductive soils.
Mr Mohammed noted that their method of farming was rain-fed and that changes in rainfall patterns observed in recent times as well as its decrease in volume were impacting negatively on their farming activities.
“As a result of these and many other reasons we are committing to help the green Ghana initiative to succeed so we can restore the degraded lands and get good rains for our crops,” he said.
Mrs Doris Osahene Amankwaa, the Assistant District Manager of the Greater Accra Forestry Commission, who presented the seedlings to the Group, said trees were vital to humans because they supplied oxygen, store carbon, stabilised the soil and gave life to the world’s wildlife.
Mrs Amankwaa said canopies of trees act as a physical filter, trapping dust and absorbing pollutants from the air and that each tree removed up to 1.7 kilos every year.
Research, she said showed that within minutes of being surrounded by trees and green space, reduced blood pressure, slowed the heart rate, and reduced stress levels.
She said though the Commission planted trees annually, the quantum had decreased due to drastic deforestation as a result of illegal mining.
Mrs. Amankwaa urged Ghanaians to participate in the tree planting exercise to aid in preserving the environment for present and future generations.
GNA