Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Kwaku Asumah-Cheremeh, has advised Farmers to establish fire belts around their farms as the harmattan season sets in.
According to him, activities of hunters have sometimes been the cause of the fires, hence the need to take precautionary measures.
Mr Asumah-Cheremeh gave the caution at the Aparapi forest reserve in Bechem in the Bono region.
He said a lot of investment has been made to preserve the forest and it will be suicidal for an individual to destroy it for selfish interest.
Government’s quest to reduce the importation of paper and paper products into the country has culminated in the introduction of ‘Gmelina species’ of plants in the Aparapi forest at the Bosomkese forest reserve in Bechem.
The Gmelina plant is what is used to produce raw materials for the paper industry. The species were introduced in Ghana in the 1990s but failed to survive.
Mr. Asomah-Cheremeh said the country is considering, through a private partnership, to acquire the necessary equipment to develop the paper industry.
Mr Asumah-Cheremeh said it is the expectation of government that the species will survive but if it fails then government will consider growing the species for the purposes of timber.
