Fumesua (Ashanti), 3rd June 99 -

The Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) on Tuesday presented more than over 80,000 seedlings of tree species to three tree growing associations in the country for transplanting.

The associations are the Ghana National Tree Growers Association, Aframso Tree Growers Association and the Ghana Timber Association (GTA).

While the Ghana National Tree Growers Association collected 40,000 teak seedlings, Aframso had 30,000 teak seedlings and 1,000 wawa seedlings with GTA receiving 10,000 teak seedlings, 1,000 ceiba as well as 1,000 wawa seedlings.

Presenting the seedlings to the various organisations at a ceremony at FORIG campus at Fumesua, near Kumasi, Dr Joseph Rexford Cobbinah, Director of FORIG, said the seedlings cost the institute over 100 million cedis but they have been given to them for free.

This, he said, was to encourage organisations to grow more trees to meet the estimated 200,000 hectares of plantations needed to enable the nation to meet its timber deficit.

Dr Cobbinah said the Timber Export Development Board (TEDB), sponsors of the project, has facilitated the FORIG with 50 million cedis to produce indigenous tree seedlings for farmers.

He said at the moment FORIG has raised 120,000 seedlings which include teak, wawa, ceiba, cassia and other species which will be ready for transplanting by the end of September, this year.

The director indicated that some tolerant lines of odum seedlings are also available for trial plantations, adding that any interested body which asks for seedlings in future would have to pay a token fee to enable the FORIG to meet other expenses.

GRi?/