Government of Ghana has received a grant of 54 million euros from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to plant shea-nut trees across the northern zone of Ghana.
The initiative seeks to improve and eliminate poverty amongst rural people especially women as well as prevent the extinction of the shea-nut tree in the upper parts of the country.
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission of Ghana, Nelson Sulemana, who made this known to the media in Bolgatanga admonished the public to support the initiative to achieve its intended purposes.
Mr. Sulemana said, the project if well executed will help majority of traders who are into shea-nut processing to boost their businesses as well as earned more income for their socio-economic development.
“Fortunately for us, the government of Ghana and the UNDP are supporting us (Forestry Commission and the Ghanaian citizens) to initiate the shea-nut initiative and they are generously giving us 54 million euros to start up this program. It is the first time in human living memory that we are going to plant shea-nut. From Bono East region through, Northern region, the Upper East to the Upper West Region we are going to be planting these trees. These shea trees are not long gestation ones, they take seven years to start bearing fruits. And we are going to rely on our local folks for this initiative where they will be taking care of this shea. So what we want from them is to allocate lands for this initiative.”
Mr. Sulemana stressed, that, anyone who provides land for such an initiative will have a hundred percent ownership of the shea-trees.
He however noted that for the initiative to come to fruition, it will be determined by the willingness of the Ghanaian populace and how they embraced the Green Ghana initiative slated for June 11, 2021.
Source: A1radioonline.com| 101.1 MHz| Moses Apiah| Ghana
