The Chief Executive Officer, CEO of Ansobie Agribusiness, Dr Naazia Ibrahim has called on the people of the Upper West Region to plant trees to prevent global warming, and also support government’s tree planting efforts aimed at rejuvenating the country’s vegetative cover.
She said tree planting was the way to go in order to clamp down on the adverse effects of climate change resulting from incessant tree felling and environmental degradation.
She, therefore, lauded the Green Ghana Initiative by the government and called on the people to embrace it, and also consciously and voluntarily plant trees in their communities.
Dr Naazia made the call during a tree planting exercise by the Ansobie Agribusiness on Friday, September 2, 2022, at Siriyiri in the Wa West District of the Upper West Region.
About 2,000 seedlings comprising cashew, teak, eucalyptus and neem were planted at a parcel of land acquired by the Ansobie Agribusiness CEO at the Siriyiri community.
The seedlings were also obtained through a partnership with the Ghana Red Cross Society under its “Pan-Africa Tree Planting and Care” initiative being piloted in the Upper West Region.
She said the exercise was a commitment to support and contribute to the climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts being implemented by the government and other development partners in the region.
She indicated that the importance of tree planting could not be overemphasized given the agronomical and environmental usefulness of trees.
She cited the economic value and export potential of the trees as well as their shading and medicinal values.
She stressed that trees do not reduce the impact of global warming but could also improve sanitation by reducing the proliferation of plastic waste in the environment.
“Some time past, we used teak leaves in wrapping food but today, look at the amount of plastic we generate which sullies our surroundings,” she cited.
She lamented over the indiscriminate felling of trees for charcoal and urged the people to desist from the act as it posed serious environmental hazards and health risks to the people.
She further urged the people to inculcate in themselves reforestation and afforestation practices “by planting new seedlings to replace felled and dead ones” to sustain the environment.
Members of the Siriyiri community expressed their profound appreciation to Ansobie Agribusiness for the mammoth tree planting intervention being carried out in the community.
They cited the medicinal and industrial values of the trees and promised to take care of the trees and plant more ones to save the environment, and they advised other people to join the tree planting campaign.
They appealed to authorities to extend more tree planting interventions to the community as they were ready to embrace them.
Ansobie Agribusiness is an organization that is into bamboo and shea plantations in the Upper West Region as well as helping to combat climate change and desertification which is at an alarming rate in the region through designed action plans and their plantations.
It has a focus on creating job opportunities and addressing the UN SDGs 5,8,9 and 17.