World Bank to offer grant to Forestry Commission for afforestation

The World Bank is offering the Forestry Commission (FC) a grant to embark on an afforestation project to replenish the depleting forest lands.

The grant is also to assist tree farmers to improve upon their living standards.

The Commission would supply tree seedlings for free to interested farmers in the project and technical officers would also be visiting the farmers in their farms to offer them the necessary technical advice to enable them to apply modern farming technologies.

Mr Isaac Hackim, Director of the Unity Afforestation Project at Nkoranza in the Brong-Ahafo Region, speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the farmers would be advised to grow timber tree species to replenish the depleting species the country.

Mr Hackim who did not disclose the quantum of the grant and when it would be released, therefore appealed to traditional rulers and individual land owners in the Municipality to release adequate lands to the youth to enable them take part in the project.

He said that would be a source of employment and income for the teeming unemployed youth to enhance their livelihoods and also promote the development of their communities.

Mr Hackim said traditional and opinion leaders could also organise their people to establish community afforestation projects as income-generating ventures to support their development projects.

The Unity Afforestation Project would nurse not only timber tree species and cash crops such as cashew, but also fruit trees like citrus and mangoes for sale to individual farmers, groups and communities engaged in tree farming.

Source: GNA