By Alex Baah Boadi
Bibiani (WN/R), Nov.12, GNA- Rainforest Alliance, an International Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), through the LEAN Project, has held an exhibition and business forum for more than 120 farmers from the Bibiani- Anhwiaso- Bekwai municipality in the Western North Region.
The LEAN Project, co-founded by the European union (EU), is geared towards supporting national efforts to conserve biodiversity, improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers, build climate resilience and reduce emissions from land use change across Ghana’s high forest, savannah and transition zones and had trained and supported over 200 farmers with startup kits to set up their small business.
Mr Nicholas Jengre, Country Director Rainforest Alliance, speaking at the event, indicated that the Business forum and exhibition was about bringing together industry leaders, regulatory authorities, innovators, markets and decision makers to explore and establish opportunities for smallholder farmers/MSME particularly women and youth to dialogue and foster productive networking opportunities for their business.
He explained that the project was to educate farmers to desist from destroying Forest reserves in the area.
Mrs Matilda Agyapong, project manager, said the project was geared towards protecting the Forest, hence mobilizing farmers who lived close to forest reserves and supporting them with more than 300,000 seedlings to replant on their farms and degraded areas.
She mentioned the training of over 6,400 individuals on Climate Smart Agriculture to improve upon productivity and enhance resilience to climate related risk, training over 200 farmers and giving them start up to set up small business in forest friendly enterprise and the distribution of 400,000 tree seedlings which had been planted in High Forest landscape among others as some of the achievements of the project.
Mrs Agyapong in that regard encouraged beneficiaries to take advantage of the Rainforest Alliance collaboration with other partners to stay focused and committed to their business and farms and formalise their business at the Registrar General Department and asked them to be mindful of environmental risk issues in dealing with their activities.
Some of the beneficiary farmers in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, lauded the project noting that, it would help them to adopt to modern ways of farming and how best to register their businesses with the appropriate state institutions.
The programme brought together partners such as Municipal and District Assemblies, Food and Drugs and Authority, Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana Enterprise Agency and Social Security and National Insurance Trust among others to enhance knowledge and skills and explore other business opportunities.
GNA