Tree registration initiative in Ghana hits the air waves

In November 2023, as part of the Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI) - over 20,000 cocoa farmers took part in an interactive radio campaign, designed to raise awareness on tree registration.

The five-week campaign ran weekly 2-hour sessions aimed at raising awareness on the tree registration process with the aim of ensuring at least 1,000 farmers registered their trees. The campaign included a live phone-in session which gave farmers opportunities to ask questions to specialists, engagement with community information centres who picked up the live feeds, and interviews. The recordings of the broadcasts were also made available to the information centres and shared on farmer WhatsApp groups to ensure a broader reach.

In addition, there were some face-to-face meetings in Abeka Nkwanta and Pieso, attended by approximately 600 people.

'I am glad to learn that we can claim ownership of our planted trees and we as farmers are now encouraged to ensure that we plant and nurture the trees on our farm'.

Nana Kwabena Kodua, Chief of Pieso Community and Farmer

Why is a tree registration system needed?

Since 2018, 15m multi-purpose trees (under our CFI programme) and 30m seedlings (under the Green Ghana Programme) have been distributed to farmers using cocoa agroforestry practices across Ghana.

Cocoa agroforestry is the cultivation of cocoa trees, amongst other trees and crops. Smallholders – particularly in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire – are adopting the approach in an effort to conserve their land and diversify their income streams.

However, farmers need proof that their trees have been planted in order to guarantee ownership (as opposed to the naturally occurring ‘state-owned’ trees), so a national Tree Registration System and mobile app have been developed by the Forestry Commission.

The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has supported IDH and the Forestry Commission in the development of an online Tree Registration Manual which will be launched in early 2024. The manual will guide smallholders - in off-reserve areas in Ghana - through the tree registration process and will be accessed via the Forestry Commission’s website.

Later this year, IDH plans to scale up this approach with the aim of reaching 60,000 farmers across four CFI priority areas in the Eastern, Ashanti, Western North and Ahafo regions.

Click here to watch a short video, made in Pieso, Ghana.

To find out more about our tree registration process, please contact Charles Brefo-Nimo: brefonimo@idhtrade.org