The Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kawa Moka, Emi-Beth Quantson, has advised that agriculture can be used to reduce unemployment in the country.
The passionate CEO was speaking to the media at Dzolokpuita in the Volta Region, where Kawa Moka led many farmers and volunteers to plant coffee trees, plantain suckers, and Ofram on farms in the area.
Quantson disclosed that the focus is to help farmers earn better income from their farming activities and to create awareness of climate change and afforestation through tree planting.
She said her organisation aims to help 13 women farmers plant about seven thousand coffee trees this year. Also, the organisation is aimed at providing education to the farmers on the importance of tree planting and afforestation.
She added that youth unemployment is a very big problem in Ghana, and she expressed her hope that the exercise will support unemployed youth in the rural communities where the project is being carried out to establish coffee farms. This could help curb youth migration to urban centres in search of greener pastures, considering the income potential coffee offers.
She admonished Ghanaians to consume local coffee so that the income generated would go back to the farmers.
She also advised farmers to diversify their investments by planting different crops so that they would have an alternative income during difficult times. She encouraged farmers to plant more coffee and tend the farms to generate more yield per acre and income from the coffee chain.
Kawa Moka planted these trees in partnership with One Tree Planted, a global reforestation nonprofit whose mission is to make it simple for anyone to help the environment by planting trees. The International Trade Centre Alliance for Action Project also supported the initiative. Over seventy volunteers joined in the tree planting. Uber also provided discounted rides for volunteers in Accra during the tree-planting period.
Speaking on One Tree Planted’s support of their reforestation partner Kawa Moka as part of World Environment Day celebrations, the Project Manager of the newly established Ghana Country Office, Eunice Boanya, said, “As a women-led, sustainability-focused organisation, we are thrilled to see Kawa Moka’s growing interest in reforestation since our partnership in 2022. By leveraging their engaged volunteer network, they are able to make a powerful impact for their local environment.”
Mr. Christopher Tenga, the National Coordinator of the Coffee Project in Ghana, said the ITC Alliance for Action project, which is funded by the European Union (EU) and the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), is designed to work with value chain actors in Ghana. According to him, the objective is to enhance production, link actors to the market, and focus on value addition to coffee products.
The ACRAM Vocal Person, Ivy Cynthia Osei, added that their participation in Kawa Moka’s tree planting exercise is to help sustain the coffee industry, which was very robust in the past but has reduced due to a low market. She believes this move by Kawa Moka will help sustain the coffee project in Ghana.
Some of the volunteers who joined the project shared their experiences with this exercise. They expressed hope that coffee could surpass cocoa if the country put more focus on it. They said this will help boost the country’s economy.
Reforestation is a great way to support community growth, education, and economic empowerment, and One Tree Planted looks forward to future partnerships in Ghana with these goals in mind.