Olam Grains Ghana Limited in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the weekend planted 11,000 mangoes and cassias seedlings at the cost of GH¢60,000 across the Northern Region to curb environmental degradation.

The exercise, which was part of the world environmental day celebration, was to raise awareness and educate communities, schools and individuals about the need to protect the environment and its endowed resources.

Mr Bishesh Ranjan Jha, the General Manager of Sales at Olam Grains Ghana Limited urged Ghanaians to protect the natural resource to enhance both the environment and human life.

According to him, the protection of the environment should be of concern to every human being since the environment was one of the contributors to human welfare in the society.

He advised the citizens to keep the environment clean to prevent them from contracting communicable diseases.

Mr Abul Iddrisu, the Northern Regional Director of the EPA stated that, “We need plants and trees to survive because they provide oxygen and food for everyone”.

He called on other Non-Governmental Organisations to support the government through advocacy, education and activism to address environmental issues in the country.

He advised the beneficiary of the three seedlings to take good care of the seedlings to grow and prevent air pollution in the system.

Dr. Dzigbodi Adzo Doke, Head of Department of Ecotourism and Environmental Management of the University for Development Studies (UDS) who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the Olam Grains Ghana and EPA for their support for the seedlings.

She gave the assurance that the beneficiaries would make good use of the seedlings to enhance the protection of the environment.

The schools that benefited from the exercise included; the UDS, which received one thousand (1,000) seedlings, Tamale College of education, 700 seedlings, Tamale Senior High School 1,300 seedlings and the Nahdah Islamic Junior High School received 500 seedlings.

Olam Grains Ghana Limited who funded the programme is one of the leading agro-commodity companies in the country, which was established in 1994, also deals in cocoa, cashew, millet, rice as well as operating a tomato paste processing and canning plant and an ultra-modern biscuit manufacturing facility based in Tema.

The company also supplies food, ingredients, fishing feed and farming as well as sourcing a network of an estimated 4.8 million farmers with the aim of supporting to protect the environment.