Aburi in the Akuapem South district of the Eastern region of Ghana is a well-known town. It is always remembered for the botanical gardens, the first and perhaps, the only such facility in the West African sub-region.
It is Ghana’s best foot forward when people cite the splendid horticultural environment of Kenya and South Africa on the continent, using the two as the table-toppers when it comes to the curation of the green economy.
The Aburi botanical gardens are even not well-patronized by the public. Some time ago, it almost became decadent until a patriotic town-crier drew attention to the facility that represents “one of the few things Ghana got it right.” A call by renowned Ghanaian Pathologist, Prof. Agyeman Badu Akosa asking Ghanaians not to cut down trees wantonly, in a speak up that relishes Kenya and others where there are a good number of forest reserves and lush, green parks, decried the opposite scenario in Ghana’s capital Accra.
However, Ghana has Aburi as a launchpad from which to draw its own lessons. So what is it about this town that made Dr. Kwame Nkrumah find a need to locate one of his landmark projects, the botanical gardens?
For a place only 4 miles away from the center of Accra, this town is central to any view that paints Ghana as a kaleidoscope of contrasts. The temperate climate of Aburi is juxtaposed against the long spells of sunshine in other parts of Ghana.
Time was when the main buildings of significance in the area were the Peduase Presidential Lodge, also the legacy of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and the Palace of Traditional Ruler of Aburi, the current occupant of the Stool is Nana Otoobour Gyan Kwasi. Now, many prominent citizens, and foreigners are interested in a permanent stay in Ghana and hôteliers are located in the Aburi area, the main nectar being the pleasant weather there. Residents of Oyarifa and Adenta, both Accra suburbs that share boundaries with the mountainous area of Aburi are in wonderland as to why it rains at Aburi all the time whilst the other side remains dry.
When President J. A Kufour went on retirement after his 8-year leadership of Ghana, he pitched a permanent tent at Aburi, where he lives in his mansion. Past or present, visitors have been flocking to Aburi just to have a feel of its near-wintry climate. Those who have taken a foothold there have taken to flower gardening, and these enclosed gardens have created quiet, contemplative spaces. In their composite form a scenic enhancement.
The Ghana Report believes all the foregoing are indicators of a bigger payoff, once Ghana realizes the far more potential in Aburi. In 1997, Ghana made its first flower export with the Netherlands as the recipient. They were lifted from dome farms at Medie on the periphery of Accra into refrigerated vans to the airport at the start of that historic trade. Years down the line, Medie looked like a pale shadow of its past as the domes stood with contents as scanty as the milk in the male Tiger’s breasts. Nothing was going on.
A 2014 visit to the irrigated fields at Dawhenya in the Accra Plains by the President of the Republic of Ghana, revealed most commercial horticulturalists had moved to that enclave to take advantage of the presence of water. Yet, Aburi has the natural climate to foster commercial horticulture as another option for export.
Let the flowers bloom in Aburi.
