Tropenbos
International Ghana is collaborating with its partners to build partnerships
between artisanal milling groups and forest concession holders.
An initial agreement
has been signed between millers in Sankore and Akrodie and a sawmill company, Logs
and Lumber Limited (LLL) for supply of logs harvested in the Goaso Forest Reserve
in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The Asunafo North
Municipal Artisanal Millers Association is enthused at the initiative.
“Getting the
resource – the wood – to mill is a problem; you either have to steal or not use
the appropriate channel… so it is a very good opportunity for us to get the resource,
sawn and fill the domestic market “, stated Richard Agyenim Boateng, Secretary
to the Association.
About 84 percent of
local lumber supply is from chainsaw milling, an illegal activity that
contributes to the loss of $18million in stumpage revenue to stakeholders.
But whilst saw millers
focus on the export markets, chainsaw operators serve domestic lumber and employs
about 130,000 people.
Ghana’s new
domestic lumber supply policy is aimed at addressing the unmet local demand for
lumber, in line with the country’s commitments under the Voluntary Partnership
Agreement (VPN) with the European Union.
Artisanal milling
is therefore an important component of a national policy to discourage illegal
chains activities.
According to Samuel
Kwabena Nketiah, Programmes Director at Tropenbos,
the
supply of timber resources to artisanal millers is a major step in sanitizing
the forestry sector.
He observed a high
number of chainsaw operators are willing to transform to artisanal milling.
Six groups have so
far been legally registered for artisanal milling with about 640 chainsaw
operators in 13 pilot communities reached with an intervention under the European
Commission’s programme on tropical forests and other forests in developing
countries.
The successful
pilot of the LLL-artisanal millers’ agreement will inform the upscale of the
initiative, said Mr. Nketiah.
However, high cost
of artisanal milling equipment is a major challenge to the artisans.
The Timber Industry
Development Division (TIDD) of the Forestry Commission has donated two portable
bandsaw mills to support the initiative.
Story
by Kofi Adu Domfeh
No comments:
Post a Comment