One student one coconut tree - Planting project underway in secondary schools in the Western Region

An environmental non-governmental organization (NGO), Goshen Global Vision( GGV) in collaboration with the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has embarked upon a one student one coconut tree, a planting project series in some second cycle schools in the Western Region.

The project, funded by the United States, Forest Service, and Terafund for the AFR100 project, forms part of Greening the Sekondi-Takoradi Twin-City project.

During the plantation of coconut tree seedlings at the Daboase Senior High Technical School, a research scientist at the Center for Scientific and Industrial Research at the Western Regional office in Sekondi, Yayra Afram, who demonstrated the planting of coconut trees, advised the students to adopt lining and pegging in between 10 meters to ensure proper yield and provide shade.

Earlier, the students carried placards some of which read "One Student, One Coconut, One Tree", "Coconut Agroforestry for Food Security", "Sowing The Seed Of A Sustainable Future", Daboase Senior High Technical School: Pacesetters in Coconut Agroforestry", among others.

Dr. Afram indicated that coconut has become an industrial crop with high economic benefits and encouraged the students to imbibe the skill and culture of planting the tree of life to prevent it from becoming extinct.

Yayra Afram stressed the need for Ghanaians to replant coconut trees after destruction by the Cape Saint Paul wilter disease.

According to him, replanting efforts by the CSIR and the Ministry of Agriculture have restored Ghana to her former glory as the largest producer of coconut in Africa after Tanzania had taken a commanding lead for two decades.

He reminded the students that the coconut plantation project is a job guarantee for Senior High School students after completion and advised the students to take advantage of the tree planting exercise, especially the coconut plantation.

He enumerated the ecological benefits of the tree planting exercise as environmental conservation, provision of shade, medicinal, ventilation, and prolonged life span to humanity, and the potential economic value of the coconut trees.

He asked Ghanaians to patronize by-products from the coconut tree such as coconut oil, soap, toffee, and coconut drink, adding that, coconut water can be transfused directly into the bloodstream.

"The virgin coconut oil can be applied as a pomade to the body. Palm kernel oil prevents the penetration of viruses from attacking the body. Coconut is a high business that boosts the immune system and prolongs life", he said.

Assistant headmaster of the Daboase Senior High Technical School, Patrick Beya lauded GGV for leading the crusade to conserve the environment with tree planting exercise.

He said the school has embraced the tree planting exercise to green the environment.

He also asked the students to take advantage of the exercise as their contribution to climate is resilience.

Executive Director of GGV, Mary Perpetual Kwakuyi said that the students will plant 800 coconut trees and 250 trees in the school's surroundings.

She said 200 coconut trees had been planted at the Shama Senior High School earlier, as well as the Ahantaman Senior High School.

She said so far, Goshen Global Vision had planted about 429,731 trees and fruit trees in the Sekondi-Takoradi Twin-City, Daboase, and Elubo cocoa communities, Ankasa, and Subri forest reserves.