Meet The Knust Student Who Is Building Africa’s First Digitalised Arboretum.

Digitalization in the 21^st century has become one of the most efficient tools that speeds up a country’s development by promoting economic growth, bringing people closer together and enabling better use of resources. Unfortunately, most developing countries especially those in Africa haven’t achieved much in digital technology.

Notwithstanding, the continent have witnessed innovative individuals who are willing and poised to change this narrative. An example is Mr. Cephas Kwaku Debrah, a Master of Philosophy Student at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology; Department of Pharmacognosy who is adding technology to plant labelling, identification and conservation.

Mr. Cephas Kwaku Debrah is a lead consultant to this unique digital project which will also serve as an eco-tourism site. The project is taking place at the renowned Centre for Plant Medicine Research (CPMR) in the Eastern region of Ghana and it is expected to be completed in May 2023.

The digitalized arboretum when completed will enhance visitors experience at the facility by making the acquisition of information about the plants in the arboretum easy and faster. Instead of a patron of the facility spending long hours on the internet and library to seek information about a plant, with just a scan with their smart phone, all information on the plant will be made available to the person. This same technology tracks the conservational status of plants and educates people on how to take proper care of medicinal plants.

The project is sponsored by the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) and the Centre for Plant Medicine Research, Ghana.

This same technology according to experts can be incorporated into the “Green Ghana Day” celebration, where plants will not just be planted but each of these plants will be digitalized for educational and conservational purpose.

Writer:
Robert Acheampong
Medical Herbalist
([email protected])