Rainforest Alliance Holds Business Forum, Exhibition for Over 120 Farmers.

Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai: Rainforest Alliance, an International Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), through the LEAN Project, has held an exhibition and business forum for more than 120 farmers from the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai municipality in the Western North Region.According to Ghana News Agency, the LEAN Project, co-founded by the European Union (EU), is geared towards supporting national efforts to conserve biodiversity, improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers, build climate resilience, and reduce emissions from land use change across Ghana's high forest, savannah, and transition zones. The project has trained and supported over 200 farmers with startup kits to set up their small businesses.Mr. Nicholas Jengre, Country Director of Rainforest Alliance, speaking at the event, indicated that the business forum and exhibition aimed to bring together industry leaders, regulatory authorities, innovators, markets, and decision-makers to explore and establish opportunities for smallholder farmers, part icularly women and youth. The goal was to foster productive networking opportunities and dialogue for their businesses.He explained that the project was designed to educate farmers to desist from destroying forest reserves in the area. Mrs. Matilda Agyapong, project manager, emphasized that the project focused on protecting the forest by mobilizing farmers living close to forest reserves and supporting them with more than 300,000 seedlings to replant on their farms and degraded areas.She mentioned the training of over 6,400 individuals on Climate Smart Agriculture to improve productivity and enhance resilience to climate-related risks. Additionally, over 200 farmers were trained and given startup support to set up small businesses in forest-friendly enterprises, alongside the distribution of 400,000 tree seedlings planted in the High Forest landscape.Mrs. Agyapong encouraged beneficiaries to take advantage of the Rainforest Alliance's collaboration with other partners to remain focused and committed to their businesses and farms. She urged them to formalize their businesses at the Registrar General Department and be mindful of environmental risk issues in their activities.Some beneficiary farmers, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, praised the project, noting that it would help them adopt modern farming practices and register their businesses with the appropriate state institutions.The program brought together partners such as Municipal and District Assemblies, the Food and Drugs Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Ghana Enterprise Agency, and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust, among others, to enhance knowledge and skills and explore other business opportunities.