The MCE for Wa, Tahiru Issahaku Moomin has assured the chiefs and people of communities benefitting from the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project (GPSNP) that his doors are open for any discussion and advice towards successful implementation of the initiative.
The MCE gave the assurance when he symbolically presented cashew seedlings to some of the 110 initial beneficiaries of the project at Busa in the Wa Municipality where 100,000 cashew seedlings have been nursed.
GBC’s Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo who was at event reports that the GPSNP is a $60 million World Bank funded government of Ghana social protection project, directed at strengthening safety net systems that improve the productivity of the poor.
Apart from the initial beneficiaries, the Wa Municipal Assembly will distribute the rest of the seedlings to other people under the Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) programme.
The MCE, Tahiru Issahaku Moomin shed light on some the components of the project and expressed appreciation to all partners for their roles in implementation of the project.
He pointed out that, it is worthy to note that, the Municipality is implementing four sub-projects under the GPSNP, Busa Climate Change Mitigation Intervention (nursery and plantation), Nakore Climate Change Mitigation Intervention (plantation), rehabilitation of Konjiehi-Yibile and Dandafuro-Tampieni feeder roads.
The MCE continued: “Let me use this opportunity to on behalf of the good people of the Municipality and particularly the beneficiary farmers at Busa and its surroundings towns and villages to express my greatest appreciation to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the World Bank for funding this laudable project.”
The Wa Zonal Coordinator of the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project (GPSNP), Mrs Cedonia Dery advised the project beneficiaries to re-invest their income.
She Stated: “I expect that the income that they have been receiving and they will continue to receive up till December 2022; they will use it to take care of their households, pay their school fees, do some other income generating activities that will sustain them when the project is off.”
“At the same time, they are going to plant the cashew seedlings they are receiving on their individual fields and we are hoping that within the next four or five years, they will be fruiting and when they fruit, they will be able to use it to take care of their household needs,” Mrs Dery observed.
Two of the initial beneficiaries, a 54-year old lady, Madam Warikiyatu Abudi and a 40-year-old man, Abass Abu, were very grateful to the GPSNP for supporting them with the cashew seedlings.
Story by Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo.