2018 Ghana Garden And Flower Show Starts On September 20, 2018

10^th September 2018, Accra - The 2018 Ghana Garden and Flower Show was launched today by the Executive Director and Chief Finance Officer of Ecobank Ghana, Dr. Edward Botchway at the Auditorium of the new Ecobank Headquarters in Accra.

The Show has the theme, “Enriching Ghana a garden at a time” and will take place from 20^th to 26^th September 2018 at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park.

The launch was attended by exhibitors, media and partners of the Ghana Garden and Flower Movement.

This year’s Show focuses on individual and community responsibility with regard to environmental conservation and sanitation. In connection with this, the show is taking place alongside a green and clean neighborhood campaign dubbed, “My Hood Dey Pap”. This campaign involves individuals identifying and showcasing green and clean neighborhoods on social media to win awards.

“My Hood Dey Pap” was therefore also launched with the 2018 Ghana Garden and Flower Show. In connection with this, the Movement took the media on a “Garden walk in Nima”, a suburb of Accra to see gardens developed by members of the Nima Mother’s Club in their homes. These gardens consist of plants that produce food and flowers some of which have medicinal properties.

Hajia Marian Salifu, President of the club said “we continue to benefit tremendously from this initiative. Having gardens in our homes enables us to breathe fresh oxygen, see beauty around us, and have easy access to fruits and vegetables. We also are able to earn some income as we sell seedlings and produce generated from these gardens”

This year’s Show is also serving as a platform for educating the public about ridding the environment of plastic waste including innovative ways of recycling plastics for use in garden related activities etc. In connection with this, Mr Rufai Zakari a member of Hipsters of Nature, an organisation that focuses on sanitation and other environmental conservation activities, showcased some creative art pieces made from plastic bottles and other plastic materials. The organisation is supported by the European Union Delegation in Ghana.

Mr Ladi Nylander, a retired CEO of Johnson and Johnson and now President of the James Town Ngleshie ‘Noyaa Kpee’ (Development Association) shared information about the association’s Greening and Cleaning programme. This involves working with the community to plant trees and undertake sanitation related activities as well as working with schools on garden clubs.

The Executive Director and Chief Finance Officer of Ecobank Ghana, Dr. Botchway, said environmental conservation is critical to human survival and strong economies. This is why Ecobank itself has instituted a green programme. “We are proud of what Stratcomm Africa is doing in promoting a Greener, Cleaner, Healthier, Wealthier and more beautiful Ghana and Ecobank is delighted to have the opportunity to partner the Ghana Garden and Flower Movement in delivering on this commitment”, he said.

Ahead of the launch, an exhibitors’ forum was held at which exhibitors were taken through marketing skills and exhibition etiquette. The highlight of this forum was education on digital banking provided by the digital Banking team of Ecobank. This is to enable enterprises in the floriculture and horticulture industry leverage digital banking platforms to enhance and grow their business.

Ms Esther A.N Cobbah, Chief Executive Officer of Stratcomm Africa, initiators of the Movement said addressing Climate change and Global warming is the responsibility of every individual and Stratcomm Africa is committed to working with all to grow the Movement to help protect planet earth. “Through this initiative we are also contributing to the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We have seen public interest in gardening and flower cultivation growing. We see a growing interest among the youth especially and for us, this is significant and most exciting”. She called on all to join the Movement.

Since its inception, the Show has grown tremendously with participation increasing from 14 exhibitors and 1,400 visitors in 2013 to 139 exhibitors and over 16,000 visitors in 2017. This year, more than 20,000 visitors and close to 150 exhibitors are expected.

Among the list of exciting activities that will be celebrated at the Show include exhibitions, conferences, business networking, music in the park, fashion in the park, movie night, taste in the park and awards.