EU Ambassador launches initiative to restore degraded landscapes

An inaugural has been launched astatine Kukpalgu successful the Mion District successful the Northern Region to reconstruct degraded landscapes, fortify clime resilience and amended livelihoods for smallholder farmers crossed the Northern and Upper East regions. 

The task seeks to enactment and incentivise smallholder farmers and pastoral households to follow divers and profitable regreening practices by strengthening argumentation environments, improving section governance systems, empowering women and youth, and stimulating concern successful restoration efforts.

It besides seeks to payment astatine slightest 200,000 smallholder households, enhancing assemblage resilience done healthier soils, much divers cultivation systems, improved nutrient and nutrition security, higher incomes and strengthened greenish enterprises.

Dubbed Phase II of the Regreening Africa (RA II), the task is being launched by World Vision Ghana (WVG) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), successful concern with World Agroforestry (ICRAF), with backing from the European Union (EU).

The beneficiary districts are Mion, Yendi, Bawku West, Garu, Tempane and Binduri. 

Restoration 

Launching the project, the EU Ambassador to Ghana, Rune Skinnebach, said Phase II of the task builds connected the occurrence of Phase I, which restored astir 1 cardinal hectares of onshore and supported implicit 600,000 households crossed 8 African countries from 2017 to 2023.

She said the task had been recognised arsenic a UN World Restoration Flagship for large-scale ecosystem restoration enactment and aligns with Ghana’s commitments to the AFR100 Initiative, the UN Decade connected Ecosystem Restoration, and nationalist clime adaptation priorities.

“We are present contiguous due to the fact that we judge successful solutions. Damaged onshore tin beryllium restored; the results of Phase I are encouraging.

Communities tin accommodate and win erstwhile they person the close tools and support. The EU is arrogant to proceed supporting the Regreening Africa initiative,” helium said.

Commitment

For her part, the National Director of World Vision Ghana, Dr Tinah Mukunda, indicated that implicit 5,452 households were reached and 5,117 hectares of onshore restored successful the archetypal signifier of the project.

She reaffirmed the consortium’s committedness to sustainable restoration, empowerment of women and youth, strengthening worth chains, and improving livelihoods.

The Head of Programming astatine CRS Ghana, Francis Gumah, lauded the partnerships betwixt the assorted partners arsenic a cardinal origin for the occurrence of the archetypal signifier of the project, citing the Northern Restoration Initiative, a multi-stakeholder level for coordinated restoration readying and action.

The Northern Regional Minister, Ali Adolf Joh, described the task arsenic a “strategic pathway for clime resilience, nutrient security, societal stability, and economical transformation”.

He, therefore, pledged the enactment of the Northern Regional Coordinating Council to guarantee the occurrence of the project.

Phase II of the task would beryllium implemented by a consortium led by CIFOR-ICRAF, alongside World Vision, CRS, CARE, Sahel Eco, and Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (AVSF).

Writer’s email:mohammed.fugu@graphic.com.gh