The Tree Crops Improvement Authority (TCDA) has expressed deep concern over the encroachment of 910 acres of presidency land on the Wenchi Agricultural Station within the Bono area, a essential analysis heart supporting Ghana’s cashew trade.
The land, initially designated for cashew seedling manufacturing and agricultural analysis, has been taken over by personal people and teams leaving lower than 300 acres accessible to be used.
The Wenchi Agricultural Station performs a vital position in Ghana’s cashew trade by offering high-quality seedlings, conducting analysis, and providing technical help to farmers.
As a number one agricultural analysis heart, it helps safeguard cashew manufacturing by bettering crop resilience and boosting yields.
Throughout his familiarisation tour of the Bono Area, the Appearing CEO of TCDA, Dr. Andy Osei Okrah, was confronted with the alarming actuality of land encroachment, which threatens not solely cashew analysis but additionally the long-term sustainability of tree crop farming in Ghana.
In accordance with Vivid S.A. Sarpong, Deputy Station Supervisor, the continued encroachment could have critical penalties for agricultural analysis, affecting farmers and the cashew trade at massive.
“Cashew is the spine of this area’s economic system. With out analysis, we can not develop improved varieties or present high quality seedlings for farmers. If this land is misplaced, future generations will undergo the results,” stated the deputy supervisor of Wenchi agricultural station Vivid SA. Sarpong.
Dr. Okrah assured researchers and station workers that the federal government will take swift motion to reclaim the encroached land and stop additional unauthorized improvement.
“We can not enable essential agricultural analysis lands to be taken over. TCDA, in collaboration with related authorities, will make sure that this land is recovered and guarded for future agricultural improvement,” he said.
As a part of his go to, Dr. Okrah additionally met with cashew merchants and TCDA’s zonal workers in Wenchi to debate key challenges within the trade, together with public consciousness, logistics, and coverage implementation.
He emphasised the federal government’s dedication to revitalizing cashew manufacturing within the Bono Area, recognising it as one in every of Ghana’s key financial drivers.
The Bono Area stays a significant hub for cashew manufacturing, and crops specialists say with out pressing motion, the encroachment of analysis lands might stifle innovation, cut back cashew productiveness, and threaten Ghana’s place within the world cashew market.
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