The Minerals Commission’s Alternative Livelihood Project on Oil Palm for 2020 planting season, will distribute over 1,057,000 oil palm seedlings freely to farmers in mining districts in the Eastern region.

These seedlings are targeted at the youth to discourage them from engaging in illegal mining.

This was made known during an inspection by the Commission’s Board on a 100 acres Oil Palm seedlings nursery site at Akwatiakwa near Adawso in the Akwapim North District.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Richie Plantations Ltd, in-charge of the nursery, Mr. Richard E. Quansah indicated that the distribution will begin in July 2020 and end September 2020.

Board Chairman of the Minerals Commission, S.K. Boafo in his address, urged the youth to stop the illegal mining practice (galamsey) and instead, register and adopt the project as a more lucrative and less hazardous means of livelihood.

Background

The Commission’s project intends to galvanize existing farmer groups in the targeted communities to establish coherent producer-shareholder commercial entities to produce oil palm.

The plan is expected to support the prevailing farming system to produce staple food crops to generate short term revenue in the interim and ensure food security prior to maturity of the oil palm.

Further to this, the project will generate both direct and indirect employment by mobilizing illegal miners (galamseys) and sensitizing them into adopting the alternative livelihood project as a more lucrative, less hazardous means of livelihood.

The Board Chairman was elated that, the free distribution of over 1million seedlings will go a long way to serve the mass of interested farmers especially the young ones in these mining districts as part of efforts by the current Government to reduce illegal mining.