A research to recover the quality of soils, vegetation and other natural resources to improve income and food security is ongoing in 6 communities in the Kassena Nankana West district.
The West Africa Farm Interface (WAFFI) project implementing in Ghana and Burkina Faso seeks to reduce poverty in rural communities through integrated forest management system.
This was made known during a stakeholder’s workshop held in Bolgatanga.
A scientist at the World Agro Forestry Center (ICRAF), Emily Smith Dumont in an interview said the project hopes to give a framework for stakeholders to protect the forests while improving food security by the end of 2018. “What we seek to achieve is to have a common understanding between the different stakeholders, those that are in charge of protecting the forest, those that are in charge of developing agriculture, those that are living up the results about what are the key issues that should be address when we look at food security”
The WAFFI project is spearheaded by TreeAid in partnership with Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), World Agro Forestry Center (ICRAF) and a local partner, Organization for Indigenous Initiative and Sustainability (ORGIIS-Ghana).
Chairman of TreeAid, a non-governmental organization working to protect the environment Dr. Pascal Atengdem on the occasion called on farmers to desist cutting down trees especially economic trees to pave way for farming.
“Trees and grasses are as important as livestock. The workshop is to draw attention the need to bring policy together so that people working in the forestry should not see the forest as different from the farms.”
Upper East regional coordinating director, Alhaji Abdulai Abubakar who opened the workshop is optimistic that the WAFFI project will support government’s planting for food and jobs program in eradicating poverty.
By: Joshua Asaah|A1radioonline.com|Ghana
