Plantation Programme A Success - Deputy Minister

Mr Thomas Broni, Deputy Minister of Lands and Forestry, at the weekend said the National Plantation Development Programme has achieved "a great deal of success".

Speaking to newsmen at the end of a visit to Ayigbe, near Sunyani, to assess the progress of the programme he said, "so far, all the project sites show visible signs of improvement and success".

He said farmers on the project are enthusiastically working hard to achieve the desired results and expressed the hope that they would "reap bumper food harvests to signify a positive aspect of the programme".

Mr John Ekow Otoo, Executive Director of the Forest Services Division (FSD), said in spite of the initial progress, the programme is a challenging task and called on the people for support and co-operation.

"The reforestation of the degraded forests was long overdue, but with the present political support we can attain the programme's goals," Mr Otoo said.

Dr Victor Agyeman, Director of Plantation Development Centre at Akyawkrom, near Kumasi, refuted claims that the farmers were being denied adequate financial and logistic support.

He said some of the farmers were demanding to be paid when the seedlings they were raising had not matured for lifting.

Mr Kwakye Ameyaw, Brong-Ahafo Regional Manager of FSD, said: "For the first time in two decades, there was no fire outbreak in the area due to the active involvement of the forest fringe communities in fire prevention exercises".

The Minister toured the Adoe Nursery, Tain 11 pegging and planting, Yaya Forest Reserve, Ayigbe Community Plantation and Nursery, in the Sunyani District and the Tano Basin Nursery project in Techiman.

The programme, which involves the nursing and replanting of various species of trees in degraded forests in the country, also to provides employment for communities on the fringes of forests.