The Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Michael Yaw Gyato, has urged Ghanaians to promote the use of local flowers which could contribute to creation of job and generate revenue to the sector.
Mr. Gyato urged the public to take responsibility to transform the environment by promoting the cultivation of flowers to contribute to the improvement of living standards of Ghanaians.
He made the call at the seventh Ghana Garden and Flower Show in Accra. The event was organized by Strategic Communication Africa on the theme; “Be the Change”!
Mr Gyato said flowers play an important role in the forticulture industry by removing carbon dioxide and toxins in the air and as well add depth and interest to landscape.
Traditionally, flowers at funerals bring a sense of peace and beauty to a sad occasion and also play an integral role in wedding designs.
The Minister said the sector would help in contributing to the realization of Sustainable Development Goal 15 on life on land, which encouraged all and sundry to plant trees and help protect the environment.
Mr Gyato said it is for the need to protect the environment from indiscriminate disposal of waste that the Ministry encouraged and implemented the waste segregation and the re-use of waste aimed at zero land fill.
He said government had launched a $53.9 million sanitation and livelihood support project for 11 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to provide about 7,000 toilets to households, to eradicate open defecation and save the environment for other services like planting flowers.
He commended organizers for sustaining the initiative to improve cleaner, wealthier, healthier, and more beautiful environment.
Mrs Shani Cooper-Zubida, the Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, said Israel is a nation of innovation and had introduced the Green Innovation Competition to help develop Ghana’s floriculture industry among the youth.
She said nine shortlisted contestants went through a rigorous selection process beginning with writing about their ideas and producing a 90-second video to showcase it.
Participants will on Sunday September 1, 2019 vie for the Green Innovation Award, a fully sponsored return trip to Israel for capacity building in their area of expertise.
Mr Ron Strikker, the Ambassador of Netherlands to Ghana, said the floriculture industry helped in the fight against climate change, reduce the rate of emissions and saves the planet from other unhealthy substances.
He said the Netherlands government would signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding with Strategic Communication Africa to support its activities.
The show brings together players in the floriculture industry to showcase Ghana’s flora and fauna and their commercial, aesthetic, environmental, and health benefits.
