Ban On Logging, Charcoal Production: Give Us Alternative Income Source – Dealers To Government

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There are concerns over the consequences of deforestation within the Savannah Ecological Zone.

As global climate change intensifies within the area, experts say there’ll be dire consequences within the coming years, if the menace of logging and commercial production of charcoal isn’t halted.

To this end, the Savannah Regional Minister on behalf of the Regional Security Council announced a ban on the 2 activities. This ban will become within the coming days.

But what is going to the effect get on livelihoods as thousands of individuals are engaged within the value chain of charcoal production in the region?

Residents of Soalepe, a community within the West Gonja municipality of the Savannah Region aside from farming, are largely engaged in the production of charcoal.

According to them, they can’t fathom the consequences of the ban on them without alternatives.

“This is what we rely on. People here depend upon it to pay the fees of their children. For the young ladies, if we don’t burn charcoal we can’t afford anything. I just returned from the bush and that I am going to be going back. If I don’t do this work, I won’t eat, so if they need us to prevent, then they need to seek out something else for us to try to,” Soale Fadila, a charcoal producer lamented.

It’s not only producers who are going to be suffering from the ban. Buyers and drivers of the products say the results on them are going to be unbearable.

“It will affect us considerably. That’s what we do to eat. If they don’t burn the charcoal we can’t come and convey it to the market. So, it’ll affect us the drivers. there’s no other job here for us to try to do aside from this,” Emmanuel Agyapong, a driver noted.

A regular buyer of charcoal, Mustapha Hamid, also lamented how the ban will affect his family.

“It will affect us tons. we’ve wives and youngsters, and that we borrow money for this. If you don’t load the charcoal, the lender doesn’t care if your money is locked up. All he wants is his money and if can’t pay, you’ll be jailed. in order that they should twiddling my thumbs with us and let’s dialogue in order that we will continue engaging within the business. I didn’t attend school, so this is often what I also can do to feed my family,” he noted