Under the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project (GLRSSMP) led by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI), over 58,000 farmers have received support to rehabilitate degraded lands and boost agricultural productivity across the nation.
These farmers have managed to restore land areas ranging from three to 10 acres.
This was revealed during a working tour last Wednesday, where the Minister, Ophelia Mensah Hayford, alongside her team, visited ongoing projects, including farms, in the Asante Akim South District of the Ashanti Region.
Mrs. Hayford expressed her delight, emphasizing that the project would significantly contribute to the battle against climate change, particularly as farmers are planting trees alongside their cocoa farms.
“I think they are excited too, because now they are doing mixed cropping and are calling for the extension of the programme,
“We will look for more funds to assist the farmers to restore all the degraded lands to enhance the fight against climate change,” she underlined.
She encouraged the farmers to plant more trees because “it will also contribute to the storage of carbon credit for sale for foreign exchange to boost the economy”.
Ms. Hayford reassured farmers who had cut down their old trees for the initiative that the government was committed to compensating them for their contribution to the restoration project by the end of the month.
The six-year Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project (GLRSSMP), which aims to encourage responsible mining and rehabilitate Ghana’s landscapes for future generations, is a $103 million collaboration between the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the Progreen Trust Fund, among others. The initiative commenced in 2022.
Kingsley Kwarkoh Amoako, the project’s Agricultural Focal Officer, noted that 75% of the project’s funding was dedicated to field activities, and the compensation for participating farmers would soon be available.
He also highlighted that other components of the project, including wildlife conservation and COCOBOD partnerships, were engaging more farmers to contribute to its goals.
Mr Amoako indicated that the project was near the target of 582 communities “with the current 535 communities resulting in the 58,000 farmers benefiting”.
In the Kwabeng Community of the Asante Akim South District, farmers praised the government for the initiative, noting that it has enabled them to implement crop rotation with vegetables and legumes on the rehabilitated lands.
They urged the government to consider extending the project once it concludes and expressed gratitude for the provision of inputs such as rice, cocoa, and various tree seedlings, including emire and mahogany, as well as organic fertilizers to enhance soil quality.
Mr. Ebenezer Agyin, Ashanti Regional Manager for COCOBOD, reported that 33,704 cocoa seedlings and plantain suckers have been distributed to farmers to date.