Ghana is aiming to plant over 5 million trees on Friday in an effort to preserve and protect the country’s forest cover and the environment at large.
Ghana to plant 5 million trees in a single day
A man prepares cuttings for reforestation in the classified forest of Tene near Oumé, south western region in Ivory Coast, on May 19, 2021.
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President Nana Akufo was expected to lead the occasion on Friday to mark Green Ghana Day.
Thousands of bags containing millions of different types of seedlings were distributed in Ghana’s 16 regions.
The planting will be done by individuals and other organizations throughout the country.
Ghana’s Lands Minister Samuel Abdulai Jinapor described the event as a great achievement for the West African country.
“As part of the programme, we are seeking to work out a formula where the trees to be planted will be economic trees. We are talking about the Timber, Wawa, Nim, Rosewood, Shea trees. The rationale for this intervention is so that in planting the trees, we are also investing for the future,” he said.
According to the country’s statistics, it is estimated that Ghana’s forest areas have been depleted by 80% since 1900.
The government aims to plant the trees mostly on degraded land.