Scientists at the Soil Research Institute (SRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have been asked to take keen interest in doing more to reverse land degradation and natural resources management.
Dr. Andre Bationo, the Board Chairman of SRI who made the call, said the institute had the mandate to undertake scientific research to generate technologies, commercialise these technologies and build capacity in sustainable management of Ghana’s soil resources for increased agricultural, environmental quality and improved livelihood
“I expect the CSIR-SRI to play a pivotal role in the World Bank approved $103.4 million to reverse land degradation and strengthen integrated natural resources management in about three million hectares of the degraded landscapes working in the communities of the Northern Savannah Zone and the cocoa forest landscape,” he said.
He was speaking at a ceremony to inaugurate the new CSIR-SRI Management Board Members at Kwadaso in the Kwadaso Municipality in Ashanti.
The Board Chairman commended the Institute for initiating the use of remote sensing supported framework for site specific agronomic management of cocoa farms, which he said would buttress the aim of the international fund.
He pledged that the new board would work with the Revised Strategic Plan (2020 to 2024) of the institute as well as the Corporate Strategic Plan to achieve the mandate of the institute.
The strategic plans hinged on fund mobilisation and partnership, communication and visibility capacity building and system/risk management.
He applauded the institute’s flagship projects in analytical services laboratory, evaluation of new fertiliser blends for cocoa, oil palm, maze, rice and soybean, development of effective soil management communication materials for capacity building.
He also welcomed the accreditation to run PhD Programme in Soil Health and Environmental Resources Management by the CSIR College of Science and Technology, adding that it had a huge potential to improve the socio-economic development of Ghana and livelihoods with strong focus on environmental quality.
By Florence Afriyie Mensah, GNA
