The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Stephen Yakubu, has pledged to ensure the integration of the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) concept into the Medium Term Development Plans of the 15 Municipal and District Assemblies in the region.
The FMNR concept, which was implemented by World Vision Ghana (WVG) in 2009 to 2019, in some districts in regions including the Talensi, Kassena-Nankana West, Garu District, has contributed significantly to the reverse of land degradation and restoration of the environment in the region.
The concept, which is spreading fast across 24 countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swatini, DRC, S. Sudan, had contributed to improving the conservation of biodiversity, mitigating climate change issues and livelihoods.
Under the concept, community members were empowered to use sickles to prune shrubs of plant species which then grow faster to become trees.
Farmers selected desired tree stumps, and for each stump they chose a number of the tallest and straightest stems to grow.
They also removed unwanted stems and side branches and managed any threat to remaining branches from livestock, fire and competing vegetation (weeds). They also culled emerging new stems and pruned side branches from time to time.
The Regional Minister made the commitment at FMNR Scaling- Up Advocacy Engagement forum with Regional Policy Makers and Implementers held at Bolgatanga on Wednesday.
He noted that the results from the implementation of the project in the districts had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the FMNR had the greatest potential to complement government’s efforts at achieving the greening Ghana Projectto help mitigate climate change, particularly the five regions of the north where desertification was a major problem.
Mr Yakubu gave the assurance that he would also preach about the potentials of the FMNR concept at the national level, and influence policy makers to make it a national policy to help complement tree growing.
He expressed worry about the actions of some Fulani herdsmen who contributed to the worsening trends of desertification in the region and attributed the problem to some chiefs who allowed that for their economic gains.
“As traditional chiefs who command respect and authority, I want to appeal to some of you who engage in such negative practices to stop and rather join hands with World Vision in the implementation of the FMNR concept to help address the problems,” Mr Yakubu stressed.
The Northern Sector Operations Manager of WVG, Mr Timothy Amangbey Akampaabadai, explained that although the project had contributed immensely in reversing land degradation in the region and other countries, it had not received the needed attention from the local and national policy makers.
The Executive Director of Forum for Natural Regeneration (FONAR) and Global Online Facilitator of World Vision, Mr Sumaila Saaka, explained that unlike tree growing, the FMNR concept was cost effective and the survival rate was very high.
He stated that the concept had been recognised at the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and other development partners as re-greening strategy, and urged policy makers in Ghana to embrace the concept by ensuring the FMNR was mainstreamed into all sectors, particularly Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Forestry Commission Wild Life Division and the Ministry of Environment Science, Technology and Innovation and Ministry of Education.
FROM SAMUEL AKAPULE, BOLGATANGA
