Galamsey, deforestation threatening future of plant medicine

Destruction of plant habitats and the indiscriminate felling of trees for the purposes of illegal mining and redevelopment is undermining the future of plant medicine Kwadwo Asante Agyei has said.

The Head of Public Relations and Marketing at the Centre for Plant Medicine Research (CPMR) observed that the situation has created scarcity for certain plants that usually take three or four decades to grow, whilst many other species have gone extinct.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at the Ghana International Trade Fair in Accra, he said the centre had gone into the cultivation of its own plantation of certain plants to mitigate the problem.

Agyei also disclosed that the institution had nurtured seedlings it distributes for free to the public, supervise the planting and provide technical assistance.

“As a means of job creation, we appeal to individuals to plant these trees, so we come and buy. You can also act as an intermediary and acquire them from the wild and the centre would buy them. It should meet our standards though,” he said.

He observed that the perception of the public about plant medicine had improved over the years, thereby creating a conducive environment for the industry to thrive.

This, he attributed to the commitment to research and the availability of information on plant medicine.

In line with Ghana’s 66th Independence anniversary theme of “Unity, Strength, Our Purpose”, Agyei said the Centre was committed to contributing to the well-being of citizens by providing quality medicine for their health needs.

Meanwhile, the centre was looking to have a global appeal through collaboration with other international organisations and countries such as Barbados.

“We will be exporting some of our products to them and this will help us get the needed fund for research” he said.

The centre, formerly called the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine (CSRPM), Mampong-Akwapim was established by the Government in 1975. It was renamed the CPMR by an act of Parliament (Act 833) in 2011.

It was established based on the recommendation of Dr. Oku Ampofo, the founder and some representatives from the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Ghana Psychic and Traditional Healers Association to facilitate and coordinate all research work on Ghanaian medicinal plants.