Seed Conservation Technique Course Project Coordinator at the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-FORIG), Dr. Joseph Mireku Asomaning, has issued a warning about the potential risks facing Ghana’s seed supply.
He cautioned that the country could experience a shortage or even a complete loss of seeds required for planting and reforestation due to the destructive impact of illegal mining activities.
At the opening ceremony of a week-long intensive training programme on “Ex Situ” conservation of seeds in the country, Dr Asomaning expressed concern over the “massive destruction of seed sources in the country due to ‘galamsey’ activities.”
Adding that “It is likely the country’s biodiversity will soon be lost if care is not taken to reverse the situation.”
Efforts are however underway by expertise from the Institute to regenerate the country’s forest estate and store seeds, describing the training as crucial to Ghana.
Dr Asomaning however explained the need to remove seeds from the forests and conserve them, with the training aimed at learning new conservation techniques. According to Dr. Asomaning, developing seed sources is essential for protecting the forests.
“We are doing our best by using the existing plantation to obtain our seeds, but we need to create many more seed sources ourselves, or reforestation activities in the country will decline,” he stressed.
Ex Situ conservation involves taking seeds out of their natural habitat and preserving them in a controlled environment, often for research or other specific purposes.
It was organised by CSIR-FORIG and had experts from Guinea, Sierra Leone, and the United Kingdom in attendance to discover mediums of protecting Ghana’s seed.
Ex Situ was held in collaboration with the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) and Royal Botanic Gardens (KEW).