Federation of forest and farm producers launched

By Morkporkpor Anku, GNA

Accra, March 12, GNA - The Ghana Federation of Forest and Farm Producers (GhaFFaP), a federation of forest and farm producer organizations, has been launched in Accra.

With the membership drawn from three ecological zones of Ghana –the Savannah, Transition and Forest Ecological zones, the Federation seeks to promote the interest of forest and farm producers in the country.

Mr George Oduro, a Deputy Minister of Agriculture, who launched the Federation commended the leadership of GhaFFaP and Food and Agriculture Organisation for teaming up to help Ghana protect its forests as it would also economically empower local farmers.

The event was held under the theme: 'Building Inclusive Communities, Climate Resilience and Poverty Alleviation.’

The evolution of GhaFFaP has been influenced by the desire of members to maximize their strength in numbers towards building strong and profitable forest and farm based businesses.

It is also to shape national policies for sustainable development and promote climate resilience landscapes across the Forest, Transition and Savannah Ecological zones in the country.

The national federation will serve as a platform for advocating conducive forest and farm policies and laws in the country, coordinate the establishment of partnerships with government, private sector and civil society organizations for the benefit of forest and farm producers and promote participation in national development.

Mr Oduro said government continues to prioritise and promote initiatives that are aimed at addressing the effects of climate change and building more resilient landscapes in communities.

The Minister said recently government announced a commitment of 6.3 billion dollars for the implementation of programmes aimed at reducing the country’s carbon emissions by 15 per cent within the next 10 years.

He said government is also working with key stakeholders and partners to identify seven priority areas to undertake various climate interventions including food, agriculture, energy, forestry, waste, infrastructure and disaster risk reduction.

He said the Ministry is delighted to learn that GhaFFaP would be prioritising the active participation of women and youth through the GhaFFaP Women’s Champions Wing.

Mr Oduro expressed the hope that the Federation would grow to become an important voice in the promotion of smallholder forest and farm producers and a pillar for poverty alleviation.

Madam Sylvia Lopez-Ekra, UN Resident Coordinator, said producer organisations are at the heart of much of the United Nations work across the various UN agencies.

She said by building their skills, strengthening their network, helping to improve their governance and advocacy strategies and focusing on expanding their inclusivity, GhaFFaP and other analogue bodies could accelerate development in local communities.

Madam Lopez-Ekra said the UN is poised to support forest and farm producer organisations through its agents to take a prominent role in strengthening rural development, resilient building, livelihood development and promoting collaboration and partnership among them.

"We will together build synergies, complementarities across the spectrum of different stakeholders and partners, while leveraging on strengths of similar initiatives and drawing on the lessons learnt from past attempts," she added.

GNA

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