Use gardens, flowers as avenue for job creation — Second Lady

The first-ever Ghana Garden and Flower Exhibition opened in Accra yesterday with a call on Ghanaians to develop interest in using gardens and flowers as an avenue for job creation.
The four-day event, which is designed to educate the public on the benefits of environmental beautification, is expected to give impetus to the national gardening policy.

Mrs Matilda Amissah-Arthur, wife of the Vice-President, made the call at the opening of the exhibition, which was on the theme: “Sustainable Gardening in Ghana”.

The exhibition is in collaboration with the Department of Parks and Gardens; a former Ghanaian footballer, Kwame Ayew; and a South African horticulturalist, Ms Keith Kirsten.

Mrs Amissah-Arthur underscored the need for Ghanaians to make good use of the natural resource in the country by growing more flowers.

“Ghana is blessed with the right climate for growing flowers of all kinds and this can help us achieve so much if we put them to good use,” she said.

Topics expected to be discussed at a conference in connection with the exhibition include: Policy, gardens and flowers for beauty and health; Garden and flowers for jobs and income generation; and Gardens and flowers - get started, keep it going”.

According to  Mrs Amissah-Arthur, Ghana was already recognised globally as a peaceful and beautiful country, blessed with enormous resources such as flowers that, if well harnessed, could be used to attract tourists.

She further said Ghana had a huge variety of plant species coupled with a good climate for gardens and flowers to flourish.

The Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Communication Africa (Stratcomm Africa), organisers of the event, Ms Esther A.N. Cobbah, said gardens and flowers were important for creating the kind of environment that was pleasant and uplifting for human beings.

“The job creation opportunities and the incomes that could be earned from the flower business are not insignificant as we know from the experiences of other countries. We would like the initiative of having the Garden and Flower show to get us all thinking about these opportunities,” she stated.

Daily Graphic/Ghana