Abesim (B/A), Oct. 18, GNA - The Abesim Youth Afforestation Brigade, a group of over 50 members had planted 55,000 teak trees covering 11 acres of land at Abesim near Sunyani to help curb deforestation in the area.

The group had already acquired 125 acres of land from the traditional council to facilitate the project in which one third of the proceeds would be used to finance development projects in the area. Mr Kwabena Owusu Aduomire, chairman of the brigade told Ghana News Agency in an interview at the weekend that, even though trees take long time to mature, there was the need to focus attention on afforestation in order to prevent any environmental crises in future.

He noted that, Abesim and its surrounding areas were among the major areas in the region that experiences bush burning during the dry seasons as majority of the citizens were farmers as well as palm wine tapers and therefore stressed the need to check the situation.

Mr Aduomire attributed the delay of the project to lack of resources and motivation for its members and appealed to the government, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and other business entities to support the project.