Mr Eric Opoku, the Minister of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has presented 1,260,482 economic tree seedlings for onward distribution to farmers in the Bono, Bono East and Savannah Regions.
The seedlings comprise moringa, cashew, and mangoes with farmers in Bono expected to receive 511,823 seedlings, Bono East, 352,135 seedlings and Savanna 396,524 seedlings.
Speaking at a ceremony at Nkoranza in the Bono East Region, Mr Opoku urged farmers to own, plant and nurture the trees, saying that would help the nation mitigate climate change impacts, promote agricultural activities and improve food security.
He said agroforestry had become an integral pathway for transforming agriculture in a more sustainable manner, saying that by integrating economic trees like cashew, mango, and moringa into the farming systems would also help advance the nation’s agriculture.
Mr Opoku explained that the presentation of the seedlings was done under Phase II of the Changing Lives Transformation Fund (CLTF) Agroforestry Carbon Credit Programme.
The programme is implemented in the middle belt and Savannah regions to improve soil fertility, reduce erosion, restore degraded lands, conserve biodiversity, and create additional sources of income for farmers.
Mr Opoku said: “Provision of these improved planting materials is therefore not merely a donation of seedlings, but an investment in farmers, families, nutrition, in climate resilience, and in the local economy”.
He said that the government through the MoFA remained dedicated to supporting farmers with the necessary technical guidance, extension services, capacity building, and linkages to markets.
“Under the Feed Ghana Programme and the Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda, our focus is to make agriculture more productive, more profitable, more resilient, and more attractive, especially to women and the youth”, the sector minister stated.
Mr Opoku noted that climate change was no longer a distant threat, saying that its impacts were already affecting rainfall patterns, soil fertility, crop yields, and the livelihoods of farmers.
“For this reason, initiatives like these are timely and important”, he said, saying that those initiatives complemented the government’s efforts to promote climate-smart agriculture, environmental restoration, and sustainable rural development.
Mr Opoku urged development partners to see that the task ahead required continued collaboration, saying that: “No single institution can address the combined challenges of food insecurity, climate change, land degradation, and rural poverty alone”.
There is therefore the need to continue working together, pool resources, share knowledge, and invest in practical interventions that directly benefit farmers.
Mr Opoku called on farmers to make good use of the opportunity by growing the seedlings to support their families, improve incomes, and secure a better future.
Madam Anitha Narahari, the Deputy Country Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) noted said that the Phase II of the CLTF Agroforestry Carbon Credit Programme marked a collective effort to build resilient livelihoods, strengthen food systems, and create long-term economic opportunities for smallholder farmers across Ghana.
She said that over 7,000 additional farmers would receive climate-resilient tree crop seedlings, saying that in total more than three million mangoes, cashews, and moringa seedlings would be distributed under the programme in the targeted regions.
“This programme has been intentionally designed to support farmers, particularly maize farmers who remain highly vulnerable to climate shocks, erratic rainfall patterns, and declining soil fertility”, Mad Narahari stated.
She said that: “Through this agroforestry intervention, we are helping farming households diversify their livelihoods, improve their resilience, restore degraded lands, and create new pathways for income generation”.
Mad Narahari gave the assurance that the WFP remained committed to supporting innovative and sustainable interventions that would not only respond to immediate challenges but also create long-term economic opportunities and resilience for vulnerable communities.
Source : GNA
