Gov’t to launch ‘Cocoa Forests Redd Plus Program’ on October 4

Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has indicated that government is set to launch the ‘Cocoa Forests Redd Plus Program’ in Accra on Friday, October 4, 2019.

According to the Minister, the program is aimed at promoting a climate smart cocoa regime in Ghana.

At a press briefing in Upper East Regional capital, Bolgatanga , Mr. Oppong Nkrumah disclosed that through the program, cocoa farmers will be supplied with seedlings of indigenous tree species to plant per acre.

Climate-smart cocoa is the production of cocoa without forest degradation but rather with methods that instead enrich the vegetation cover and nature.

He added that farmers will also be encouraged to desist from tree felling.They will also be encouraged to nurture the trees to provide cover for their cocoa farms.

Farmers will also be supported to register farm trees on their farms so they have ownership and bargaining rights against timber merchants.

“The combination of these interventions is expected to motivate cocoa farmers to lead the charge in providing vegetation cover for the cocoa industry. This associated with the other interventions in the sector should lead to more sustained cocoa farming and its attendant benefits to both farmers and the economy in general. It is also expected to give a major boost to the climate protection agenda,” he noted.