Yara Ghana gives school bags to pupils
Yara Ghana has launched a project to provide 10,000 school bags to pupils of 40 basic schools in deprived communities in the country.
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Under the project, the company, which deals in agricultural products, would distribute the bags to the communities in the Western, Ashanti, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions by 2017.
Launching the project at the Pantang Presbyterian Basic School in the Ga-West Municipality last Tuesday, the Managing Director of Yara Ghana, Mr Sergio Godoy, urged the government to roll out policies that would prioritise the training of children on best waste management practices at the basic school level in order to make them conscious of environmental preservation.
He appealed to business entities and the public to take pragmatic steps to recycle waste material into useful products that would benefit the society and help to preserve the quality of the environment.
Potential for agricultural growth
Mr Godoy said the country had a huge potential to grow its agricultural sector through sustainable preservation of the environment and the engagement in public private partnerships (PPP) in the provision of tools and equipment to farmers.
“There is the need to support farmers to increase productivity and quality of their crops through the provision of fertilizers and education on best farming practices that will not endanger the environment,” he said.
The Deputy Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Mrs Bernice Heloo, who officially launched the project, said the initiative was an avenue that would create job opportunities in the country.
“The fact that the bags are made locally with local human resource means that more people will be employed,” she said.
In a speech delivered on her behalf, the Minister of Education, Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman, called for an integrated and holistic approach from all stakeholders to manage waste.
“In a society where all the people have access to clean air and clean food, there will be healthy living. The initiative to use effective recycling of waste to produce bags will help preserve the environment and also motivate children to attend school,” she said.
She pledged the support of the government for the initiative.
