The Goshen Global Vision, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the United States Forest Service, have embarked on coconut plantation project in Ahantaman Girls Senior High school in the Western Region.
The Western Region is synonymous with Coconut business and thus under the US Forest Service, the two entities undertook the five million coconut tree project to create wealth and prosperity in the region.
The move was envisioned to boost the region’s economy by injecting about $400M to boost the project.
Mr. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Western Regional Minister who launched the Coconut seed garden and plantation project said, the region was the hub of coconut production, and “I must admit the Senior High Schools in the region embracing the future of expansion of the cultivation and sustenance of coconut is a welcoming approach”.
The project in the selected schools, he noted, would serve as a training ground to grow students’ interest in coconut plantation projects in promoting entrepreneurship among the youth.
The Minister explained that the Goshen Global Vision in collaboration with CSIR -Takoradi, represented by Dr. Yayra Ofram and funding from the USFS selected the two girls’ schools in the Region; Ahantaman and Archbishop Porter Girls’ Senior High Schools for the coconut seed garden and plantation.
The project in the schools would serve as an internal income generation venture and also for food security with a possible enrolment of other schools in the future.
Mr. Darko-Mensah said the Forestry Commission was targeting to plant 20 million trees to help in the fight against climate change and urged the public to plant possibly a coconut tree in their various environs, schools and homes, in relation to the Green Ghana Project.
He called on farmers to look out for the dangerous pests and diseases of coconut and implore c
ontrol mechanisms in checking and preventing them from destroying the coconut plantations.
The Regional Minister noted the need to promote sustainable use of land in the face of climate variations, and to fight against Climate Change adding,” we should be willing to fight against deforestation and forest degradation. Our commitment is to invest in forest and make Ghana green.”
Ms Mary Perpetua Kwakuyi, Executive Director of Goshen Global Vision said in Sekondi-Takoradi, the Association was implementing its flagship project dubbed “Greening the Sekondi-Takoradi Twin-city, in partnership with the United States Forest Service (USFS) and leadership from the local government authorities (STMA and EKMA), to reverse the trend of forest loss and potential food insecurity through “Women and Youth in Commercial Urban Farming and City Greening”.
The aim was to enhance urban climate-smart vegetable production and supply, provide the youth with hands-on farming skills and business start-up tools for sustainable entrepreneurship in urban agriculture and establish demonstration farms, formally referred to as “Farmer Field Schools” among others.
She lauded the partnership with all stakeholders to achieve desirable outcomes. “We are thrilled today as we partner the CSIR-OPRI, to establish hybrid dwarf coconut, which is resistant to the Cape Saint Paul Wilt Disease seed garden and plantation with 3-year maturity period which fits perfectly with our objective of improving the lives of women and youth and providing them with alternative livelihoods.”
She said the project was intended to allow the participating schools acquire the requisite skills and knowledge in coconut cultivation and value addition to take over the business of the heritage crop after their education, as a means of food security in the short, medium, and long time as we intend to integrate the plantation with sweet corn and help in internally generated funds for the school.
BELOW ARE EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS FROM THE LAUNCH AND COCONUT PLANTING
