The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, responsible for Lands and Forestry, Hon. Benito Owusu-Bio, has disclosed that 72% of seedlings planted during the 2022 Green Ghana tree planting exercise has survived.
This statistic, he said, is according to a report submitted to the Lands Ministry by the Forestry Commission detailing the verification assessment of trees planted during the years under review.
The Deputy Minister revealed this when he took a tour of the Greater Accra Region yesterday-Tuesday, 28th March, 2023- to monitor seedlings planted by associations, institutions, the Ministry and the Forestry Commission during the Green Ghana Project.
He also assured Ghanaians and taxes payers that all monies invested into procuring Green Ghana Seedlings have been judiciously utilised as most of the seedlings planted during the 2021- 2022 Green Ghana Day planting exercises are surviving.
“Earlier, we disclosed a survival rate of 80% however due to weather conditions and other factors, currently seedlings planted in 2021 have a survival rate of 67% and 2022, 72% survival and that is good progress because no matter what, we will not be able to achieve 100% survival,” the Deputy Minister said.
Hon. Benito Owusu-Bio however dismissed claims about government’s unpaid dept of 2.3 Billion to Green Ghana Seedling providers after the planting exercises.
Addressing the media explained that “there is no such thing as 2.5 Billion dept, even the funds allocated by government for Green Ghana was not that much. What we actually owe our seedlings providers is an amount of 28million Ghana cedis which will soon be cleared.”
He assured the seedlings providers that talks were already underway with the Finance Ministry to settle all Green Ghana depts owed and would personally ensure that these conversations were fast-tacked.
Hon. Benito was impressed with how well the seedlings have grown so well so far, applauding the Forestry Commission for ensuring that Foresters nurtured the Green Ghana seedlings to maturity.
The Deputy Minister also urged all Ghanaians who planted some of the seedlings in their homes and farms to ensure they make it an effort in nurturing the seedlings to maturity, while also calling on all and sundry to join the frail and plant the 10,000 seedlings scheduled to be planted this year to help mitigate climate change.
Hon. Benito asserted that the monitoring was part of build-up of activities towards the Green Ghana Day which he reiterated would be on the 9th June, 2023.
The team on the monitoring tour first visited the Seismic Centre at the Ghana Geological Survey, then to three planting sites at Legon campus, through to the Achimota Forest, to the Achimota secondary school and to the JJ Rawlings Foundation guardianship inside the Achimota School.
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