The second phase of the project for standard setting and sustainable supply chain management of the Allanblackia tree, known locally as “sonkyi or kusie adwe”, has been launched in Ghana.
Oil derived from Allanblackia seeds can be used for cooking, preparing medicines, making of soaps and the manufacture of margarine and cosmetics. It can also be used in preparing ice-cream, coatings, cake and for baking cookies.
The tree grows naturally in the forest, adjoining areas and to some extent on farms, especially in the Central, Western, Ashanti and Eastern Regions of Ghana.
The project, being promoted by the Swiss government and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is to help reduce poverty in Ghana and to improve the livelihoods of Ghanaian farmers while promoting biodiversity in the country.
It also seeks to provide guidance on how to tackle technical aspects related to the regeneration and determination of the appropriate ecology of the Allanblackia tree, especially, on farms and to develop sustainable value chains through the elaboration of standards for the tree.
The $6 million project is a public-private partnership, with the Swiss government contributing $ 1.9 million. Other partners contributing to the project include Unilever, the World Agro-forestry Centre, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and IUCN.
At the Launch, the Ambassador of Switzerland to Ghana, Mr Nicholas Lang, said the objective of Switzerland’s economic development to Ghana is to support the implementation of Ghana’s poverty reduction strategy with the ultimate aim of supporting Ghana to become a middle income country.
He said that was the reason for the Swiss government’s effort to support the implementation of the commodity since it was interested in helping to alleviate poverty and improve the lives of Ghanaian farmers.
“ Our support to develop Allanblackia as a niche product for export with poverty reduction impact is one of the many projects that characterise our economic development relations with Ghana,” Mr Lang stated.
The ambassador added that the Swiss government was supporting the Allanblackia project for a number of reasons which include the promotion of sustainable small-scale use of tropical forests and agricultural lands by local communities, while raising awareness of environmental concerns.
He expressed the hope that work done to develop the best practice guidelines for Allanblackia harvesting would be the key reference to further develop the Allanblackia related standards in co-operation with all the partners.
Launching the project ,the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Henry Ford Kamel, said the country’s forestry sector had experienced several challenges such as excessive exploitation, illegal harvesting, degradation and weak regulatory framework.
Citing the example of the reduction in the nation’s forest cover from 8.2 million hectares in the 90’s to 1.6 million hectares due to factors such as illegal logging and chainsaw operations.
“ The challenges we face in the forest sector call for innovative measures that will make the use of forests and their resources sustainable, which is why the Allanblackia project is laudable and in line with the government’s development agenda”.
The Senior Forest Officer for West and Central Africa, Mr Martin Nganje, said the first phase of the project was launched on March 23, 2005 with a key reference for the elaboration of standards that would promote sustainable production and trade of Allanblackia and facilitate market access through an open multi-stakeholder platform.
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