Queen mother of Yirankoran donates land for FMNR project

By Fatima Anafu-Astanga, GNA

Yandankurog, April 22, GNA - Queen mother of Yandankurog, near Tongo in the Upper East Region, Madam Engsomidmahmi Tule has allocated land for re-generation of shrubs to replenish the lost vegetation in her community.

Madam Engsomidmahmi has also advocated non- burning and slashing of trees on the Farmer managed natural re-generation project to ensure the area gained its vegetative cover and improved soils for food production.

Madam Tule with support of her community members in a group called ' Sugru Mahme' where men and women worked together to maintain, grow and protect the tree shrubs from fire and indiscriminate cutting.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency during the visit to the Yandankrug community, the queen mother explained that the idea to start the FMNR project in the area was mooted when she visited other communities and compared weather conditions and food yields after the farming season.

"My recent visit to Tongo for women leaders meeting, I realised the venue for the meeting had many trees, and as a result, the sun was not as scorchy as compared to my community in Yadankorug". The queen mother explained.

Madam Tule therefore pledged her widow's mite to contribute to make her area one of the areas for learning for FMNR.

Whilst praising World Vision for enlightening the community for the need to use indigenous ways to replenish the lost vegetation, she also thanked the organization for supporting the community with training on management of the resource and providing them needed logistics such as wellington boots, and tools to make work easy on the project.

“The poor weather conditions including poor rainfall pattern, the scotching nature of the sun during our off-farming season and unavailability of trees to provide shade for us at Yandankuran is the reason we are practising regeneration of the vegetation” Madam Tule indicated.

“Since the community started the FMNR model, we experience more moisture when it rains and I think it is because of our acceptance to recreate the land and also practise land conserving practices here”. She spoke in Taleni.

She however reiterated the absence of a borehole in the community as a major challenge and noted that the only borehole in the area broke down over 10 years ago and members of the community obtained water from adjoining communities to solve their water needs and called for help for the installation of a borehole for the community.

Mr Danimmah Dinniah acknowledged the benefits accrued from the community project and indicated that their livestock now hadf fodder and remained within the community instead of going distances in search of food.

Mr Lambert Boar Nyaaba, a member of the group prayed for unity among the members to achieve the needed intentions of the group, especially working to improve livelihoods of community members and leaving a better future for the next generation of their children.

He called on the traditional authority for the institution and enforcement of laws to deter people from setting fire to the project among others.

Madam Charity Biengbon Tengbon who explained how members planned to attend to emergencies especially fire outbreaks on the project, told the GNA that World Vision supported in that direction by training them on such emergencies.

Meanwhile she noted some of the benefits women were getting from the project included fuel wood and called for support to plant more exotic trees in the area as sheanuts trees and others were doing well on the project and providing women, men and children fresh fruits all the time.

Other activities the group undertake in the project also include; Bee-keeping while women also benefitted from the pruned shrubs for cooking at home, harvest of fruits for sale and for family.

Read Full Story