The Field Officer of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA-Ghana), Dominic Adomako-Kontoh, has said one of the major challenges confronting the survival rates of planted trees in the country is the lack of capacity on the part of people who are given tree seedlings to plant.
The Field Officer made the observation when he facilitated a capacity training programme on how to plant trees to ensure maximum survival rate at the launch of a Climate Change and Livelihood Empowerment Project in Navrongo.
The project, implemented by Our Lady of Mercy Community Services (OLAM), an NGO, with funding support from VASTENACTIE-BELGIUM and OSIWA-SENEGAL, attracted community members from 300 households in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality and its environs, including the clergy.
The beneficiaries were taken through the correct digging process of suitable length and breadth for planting seedlings and the importance of the top soil to the survival of the seedlings.
He said research has it that the low survival rates of planted tree seedlings are mainly because of lack of technical knowledge.
Mr. Adomako-Kontoh explained it is unfortunate that many organisations including state intuitions spend huge sums of money in procuring seedlings to distribute to communities to plant, only for them to die.
“Unlike the locally breed mango seedlings, grafted mangoes are very delicate and need special attention to survive. For instance, grafted mango seedlings do not want waterlog areas,” he explained.
He said the economic benefits of mango trees are enormous.
Mr. Anthony Akum Atanga Kwarania, a -76 -year-old farmer, thanked the NGO for the intervention, saying training will help address the climate change issue in the communities and also empower them economically.
The Chief Executive Officer of OLAM expressed gratitude to ADRA for the intervention.
“Climate change is a global problem and to mitigate it, there is the need for every community member to get involved,” he said.
