The chiefs and people of Avatime-Gbadzeme have launched 2024 Avatime Amu Festival (Amufest), with the planting of coconut seedlings, with emphasis on tree planting as a key initiative for the festival. This symbolic act underscores the festival's commitment to environmental conservation, as well as the promotion of economic tree crops to sustain vegetation. The Avatime Amu Festival is celebrated annually to promote the Mountain Brown Rice, a nutritious staple produced by the Avatime people. This year, tree crop planting has been incorporated as one of the central objectives to emphasize the importance of environmental sustainability and agricultural development. In a welcome address delivered for Osie Adza Tekpor VII, Paramount Chief of the Avatime Traditional Area, by Okusie Okorforobour Agyeman VII, chief of Avatime-Gbadzeme, he highlighted the festival's significance in commemorating the cultural heritage of the Avatime people. He also stressed the importance of reinforcing the bonds between the seven Avatime communities. Themed 'Sustaining Avatime as a Climate-Resilient Community Through Mountain Brown Rice Production, Culture, and Ecotourism,' the 2024 Amufest marks the 13th edition of the festival since its reinstatement. The theme reflects the community's ongoing efforts to blend cultural preservation with sustainable development, focusing on rice production and ecotourism. Madam Janet Adade, a prominent farmer in the Volta Region and Chairperson of the launch, praised the people of Avatime for their focus on agricultural development and the celebration of a staple food like Mountain Brown Rice. She urged the community to unite and form cooperatives, which would make it easier to receive support from government agencies, NGOs, and private investors to enhance their agricultural ventures. Delivering the keynote address on behalf of National Best Farmer Mrs. Charity Akortia, Mr. Samuel T. Tei commended the Gbadzeme community for their decision to plant tree crops as part of this year's celebration. H e also emphasized the need to protect and maintain the region's forests and green vegetation, particularly to boost its ecotourism potential. The Amu Festival is one of Ghana's most renowned traditional celebrations, rotating annually among the seven Avatime communities in the Ho-West District of the Volta Region-Amedzofe, Dzorkpe, Fume, Vane, Dzogbefeme, Gbadzeme, and Biakpa. The week-long series of events will culminate in a grand durbar on November 9, bringing together the chiefs and people of Avatime for a colorful celebration. The festival not only promotes Mountain Brown Rice as a vital cultural and economic symbol but also highlights other aspects of the region's heritage, such as the traditional womanhood rites (Kusakokor) and the community's rich tourism attractions. These include caves, canyons, waterfalls, forests, and Mount Gemi, Ghana's second-highest peak. To further support the tree planting initiative, five coconut seedlings were distributed to each of the seven Avatime communities during the launch, reinforcing the shared commitment to environmental conservation and agricultural development. Source: Ghana News Agency