By Abass Jalloh
As the government of Sierra Leone signed a trade agreement with the Miro Forestry and Timber, the Business Operations Manager of Miro Forestry and Timber, Le Roux Dupper, has said that the company is set to start production of hardwoods (Plywood) with ‘best quality in Sierra Leone and export to other countries this year.
“This will be groundbreaking in the next couple of months. We feel that we can make a massive impact where individuals and business people will benefit from the expertise which will be an impact on the environment,” he said.
The agreement signed by Sierra Leone’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Edward Hinga Sandy, and the Business Operations Manager of Miro Forestry and Timber, Le Roux Dupper, is geared towards providing the enabling environment for the local industry by diversifying and engineering globalization and technology for local agricultural produce.
Speaking at the event on Thursday 10th February 2022 at the weekly government press briefing held at the Ministry of Information and Communication, Edward Hinga Sandy expressed optimism over the benefit that the country stands to gain from such agreement, saying that it will help them to improve on the agricultural industry and the significant contributions of manufacturing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“We are focusing on the strength, the potential; the country has got the great potential to grow in terms of industry,” he said, adding that “We have seen what Miro Forestry Company has done in Tonkolili District, and they continue to look at what they will do in cultivating more areas.”
The minister says the production of plywood in the country will have “great benefits”, adding that the focus of revenue generation should be on the local market and exportation.
He added that Miro wants to see how they can take the industry further to have a manufacturing factory in Sierra Leone by producing hardwoods [plywood] because Sierra Leone has been importing plywood from other countries.
“They have taken into growing trees in so many ways; working with Miro will help us in the long run to cover our land which mostly has been exposed to deforestation,” he added.
He went on: “The forest we all know plays a huge part. It is one of the natural manufacturers of oxygen which is needed hugely. We have seen their works in producing electric poles, one of the very best in West Africa.”
Established in 2010, Miro Forestry & Timber Products provides Plywood, Edge Glued Panels, CCA Treated Poles and related forest products to partners and clients in West Africa and around the world. The private forestry development company operates in Ghana and Sierra Leone. The Company’s local operating companies have landholdings in Ghana and Sierra Leone amounting to a total of over 30,000 ha (gross). Current planted area covers an area of 12,000 hectares, of which 60% in Ghana and rest in Sierra Leone.
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