TAMAIKO NURSERY SUPPORTS GREENING GHANA (PAGE 43, AUGUST 23, 2010)

THE Taimako nursery in Savelugu in the Northern Region has raised thousands of tree seedlings to support the greening Ghana project.
The nursery, which is located about 4 kilometres off the Tamale Airport road junction, is one of the major nurseries in the country, which supplies government and private institutions with seedlings to undertake national projects.
It is currently the largest supplier of mango seedlings to the Northern Ghana Mango Project, which is spearheaded by the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF).
The owner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the nursery, Hajia Dr Salamatu Taimako, told the Daily Graphic during a visit to the nursery that her outfit had raised many platelets of various tree species in anticipation of demand for the seedlings.
The species include mahogany, lucenia, albezia, cashew, shea trees and local and grafted mango plants.
Dr Taimako said the seedlings were ready for planting and that various institutions implementing forest plantation projects had expressed interest in them.
“We know that many more institutions are yet to come on board so we are nurturing more seedlings. There is growing awareness of the importance of trees and this must be encouraged,” she stressed.
Dr Taimako, who was honoured with a doctorate degree by the University for Development Studies (UDS) for her promotion of medicinal plants, said tree growing was a passion she had nurtured over the years.
“I have grown to cherish tree planting, especially, trees that promote human health,” she stated, adding that several years of experience in that work had enabled her to identify various trees and their medicinal values.
Aside raising trees, Dr Taimako also engages in philanthropic activities as part of her social responsibility to the communities in which she works.
Each year, she sponsors two graduates of junior high schools in her operational communities to senior high schools.
“I want to go beyond tree planting to impact positively on the lives of children in our rural communities since many of them are disadvantaged,” she stated.
Dr Taimako said the establishment of the nursery had also created employment avenues for a number of young men and women, who otherwise could have been unemployed.
She, therefore, commended various partners who have been doing business with her nursery over the years, stressing “their invaluable partnership has resulted in the continuous survival of this nursery.”