The government is to embark on a massive forest plantation development this year to help restore the vegetation cover of degraded forest reserves.

About 80,000 hectares of degraded land will be made available by the Forestry Commission for the programme.

The programme aims at encouraging the development of a sustainable forest resource base that would satisfy future demand for industrial timber and enhance environmental quality.

Mr. Thomas Broni, Deputy Minister of Lands and Forestry disclosed this at Tegemoso in the Central Region.

According to him, the government exceeded its plantation target of 20,000 hectares last year.