Utilization of Coconut wood, Oil palm wood, Rubber wood, Borassus palm and Broussonetia as timber resources in Ghana

The project seeks to diversify the resource base of Ghana’s lumber by utilizing some lesser-used species namely, Coconut wood, Oil Palm wood, Rubber wood, Borassus Palm and Brousonetia. At a certain age of their plantations, production is constrained leading to economic loss. For instance, after 25 years, it is not economical to tap the latex from rubber wood so at that stage the tree is often discarded. When it comes to coconut, farmers experience economic loss due to the prevalence of the Cape St. Paul wilt’s disease on the trees which leave it unproductive. In its old age, the productivity of oil palm reduces because the tree grows very tall thereby making harvesting difficult. Broussonetia is also an invasive species that is often regarded as a weed but evidence shows that it could grow to the size that could be utilized as wood. All these species if they can be utilized can reduce the pressure that is being put on traditional timber species. Utilizing these species could also make the agricultural lands on which they grow productive enabling farmers recover some of the losses incurred.