Australia commends World Vision for its FMNR Project

Yameriga, (UE), Aug 1, GNA - The Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Billy Williams, on Friday, commended World Vision Ghana, for its Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) Project in the Talensi-Nabdam District of the Upper East Region.

The Commissioner made the commendation when he was conducted around the project site by the World Vision Talensi-Nabdam Area Development Programme Manager, Mr Nobert Akobila, during his five days working visit to the Upper East Region.

The Australian High Commissioner also commended the chiefs and people in the communities for embracing the concept and noted that a critical assessment of the effects of global warming on the environment clearly shows that it is the responsibility of everybody to protect and preserve the natural environment to avert the problem.

He therefore stressed the need for all and sundry, especially chiefs and communities to team up with other stakeholders in efforts to curb the trend.

He described the FMNR as a sustainable management of natural resources, which should be adopted in all communities.

The Project, which is on pilot base, is aimed at preventing desertification in the area and to also provide livelihoods for the people.

Briefing the High Commissioner on the project, the Project Manager of FMNR, Mr Peter Abuga said under the FMNR, World Vision Ghana have been empowering farmers with capacity building training and knowledge, to manage natural regeneration of trees, with the aim of replacing the lost natural reserves, especially forests which had seen the worse form of desertification in the area.

The farmers, he noted were also trained to select the stumps or shrubs of the natural vegetation and prune them off up to each farmer's specification and needs, to stimulate the growth of the plant.

He indicated that four communities in the District, namely Yameriga, Wakii, Tongo beon and Yinduri are engaged in the FMNR and that each of the communities is doing 30 hectares of it.

He said farmers in the area were also adopting the FMNR on their various farms and expressed optimism that in some few years to come it would help curb desertification in the area and indicated that the project had worked so well in other countries, including Niger and Burkina Faso.

Mr Abuga also indicated that under the Project, fire stewards are trained and they move from community to community to also train community members on how to prevent fire outbreak.

He said World Vision would scale up the project to benefit other areas, and added that, the project was being sponsored by World Vision Australia through funding from AusAid, a facility from the Australian Government.

The Chief of Yameriga, Yarmerigdaana Zimbil Longmogre thanked World Vision Ghana and the Australian Government for the Project, and said the project was making an impact in the community and indicated that, he would ensure the project was preserved for posterity to also benefit from it.

GNA