Smallholder plantations to promote afforestation in off-reserve areas in Ghana

Smallholder plantations to promote afforestation in off-reserve areas in Ghana

Ghana - 01 September, 2014

In order for smallholder forest plantations in Ghana to be successful, incentives for managing secondary forests are needed, as well as an increased knowledge in marketing constraints, pests and disease management, the role of trees and a better definition of ownership of trees on farms. These were some of the conclusions withdrawn from the discussions during the inception workshop of the Landscape Restoration Project, organized by Tropenbos International on August 5, 2014 in Kumasi, Ghana.

The project, Landscape Restoration, that was launched during the workshop aims at developing options to guide the successful implementation of smallholder plantation schemes in off-reserve areas to promote afforestation and optimize benefits to stakeholders. Is being jointly implemented by TBI Ghana, the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the Resource Management and Support Centre (RMSC) of the Forestry Commission and the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG).

During the workshop presentations were given on the topics “Mechanisms for improving the role of smallholder plantation in productive landscape development” and “Results of stakeholder analysis for the Landscape Restoration Project” which was followed by group discussions on matters arising from the presentations.

The group discussions focused on the “Formation and sustenance of tree grower associations” and “Identification and prioritization of stakeholder concerns on restoration and maintenance of off-reserve landscapes, including dedicated forests or sacred groves, secondary forests or fallow lands, plantations, trees on farms and others”.

The discussions also examined “Incentives for off-reserve landscape restoration” as well as the “Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the Forest Services Division of the Forestry Commission as a forestry extension agency”.

The workshop was attended by 50 participants from the forestry sector, civil society organisations, farmers, landowners, research institutions and the media.