Kumasi, Oct. 21, GNA – Members of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana have been trained on the use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) 64 series devices to help track and report activities on Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR).
The one-day training programme, organised by the Ghana Federation of Forest and Farm Producers (GhaFFap), aimed at aiding the members profile their tree planting initiatives under the GhaFFap Green Ghana initiative.
Mr. Elvis Kuudaar, Ghana National Facilitator of Forest and Farm Facility at Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), addressing the participants in Kumasi, said the training would expose the participants on how to use the device.
He said the training would enable the members to develop the skills of profiling and taking coordinates of trees and landscapes in order to provide factual and accurate reporting on FLR activities.
Mr. Kuudaar disclosed that during the Green Ghana Agenda, many farmers planted lots of trees but unfortunately most of them do not know the number of trees planted as well as their farm size.
“Most farmers embraced the Green Ghana Agenda, but they cannot tell you the number of tree seedlings planted as well as their farm size,” he disclosed.
Mr. Kuudaar said with the help of the GPS device, based on the technical skills given to the participants, they would be able to calculate and know the area and hectares of their farms.
This, he said, would also help them to plan accordingly to affect their budget and issues of profitability.
“If I am Accra, and you say you planted trees in the Upper East Region, but you can’t tell me where exactly, the device is able to tell you exactly where the tree is, how old it is and you profile it,” he stated.
Mr. Kuudaar added that the GPS device would help GhaFFap to know the number of farmers as well as the number of trees planted in a particular Municipality to ascertain whether the trees were depleting or increasing.
Each farmer was given the GPS device to send to their farm base organizations to take coordinates of their trees, profile it and register through the Forestry Commission of Ghana.
Madam Lydia Miyella, a farmer at Maaltaaba Peasant Women Farmers’ Cooperative in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region, speaking to the Ghana News Agency, said the training programme would help farmers know the number of trees planted on a farm.
“Most of us plant trees without following a root, we just do it anyhow.
We have learnt today that to plant trees, you need to follow a pattern to know the number of trees being planted on a farm,” she said.
She said the GPS device provided evidence, adding that “you cannot fake a report on the number of trees planted”.
Madam Miyella commended the Federation for organising the program and called on the farmers to make good use of the device.
Source: Ghana News Agency
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