Christopher Negedu
Agro-Climate Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscape (ACRESAL), has commenced the planting of seventeen thousand, one hundred and sixty-six trees in Kabba Local Government Area to promote climate smart agriculture in Kogi State.
Project Coordinator, Kogi ACReSAL, Barrister Ladi Jatto made this known during a Stakeholders Engagement and Flag-off of Tree Planting at Saint Barnabas Secondary School in Kabba.
The world Bank, through Agro-Climate Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscape (ACRESAL), has embarked on the projects to address some critical environmental challenges across nineteen states in Northern Nigeria, including Kogi and the FCT.
Barrister Ladi said the project development objective was to increase the adoption of sustainable landscape management and strengthen long-term framework for integrated climate-resilient landscape management.
She noted that the project has four components to include, dry land management, community engagement in practicing climate smart agriculture, training of people to take ownership for sustainability and strengthen institutions and agencies.
According to her, to cushion the over reliance on firewood and further release of carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere, Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, through ACReSAL project has provided three thousand clean cook stoves for women around the gully corridors, saying one hundred out of the women that benefited were from Kabba.
She commended Governor Yahaya Bello for providing an enabling environment for the realization of the project, appealing to the community to embark on aggressive tree planting, as well as protecting facilities installed and trees planted by ACReSAL in the area.
Governor Yahaya Bello, while flagging off the project, described it as sowing seed for a sustainable future, stressing that the initiative align with the government’s commitment to environmental stewardship, climate resilience and well-being of communities.
Represented by the Commissioner of Environment, Mr. Victor Omofaye, Governor Bello emphasised that Government is taking a proactive step towards securing a healthier, more resilient and environmental conscious Kogi State, saying trees provide oxygen, mitigate climate change and offer numerous socio-economic benefits, hence the need to prioritize the project.
Governor Bello said the initiative is in line with the global commitment, and the state government has embraced it by implementing policies to discourage forest encroachment and sustain an increase in the tree population in communities.
He commended the World Bank and ACReSAL for siting the project in Kabba and called for collaboration among stakeholders and members of the community to make the tree planting exercise a resounding success.
In her remarks, Natural Resource Officer, Mrs Racheal Anuwe, said ACReSAL project targeted nineteen Northern states including Kogi and FCT, aimed at addressing some of the critical environmental challenges in Northern Nigeria.
Mrs Anuwe maintained that Agro-Forestry implementation would also be carried out within farm land, saying farmers who are interested in planting trees between their crops would be encouraged and enjoined members of the community to cooperate with contractors handling the project and nurture the trees to maturity to enable government achieve set objectives.
Also speaking, the Obaro of Kabba, Oba Solomon Owoniyi commended ACReSAL for the project and appealed to the state government to extend the tree planting campaign to other rural communities for adequate realization of the project.
The Traditional Ruler also appealed to ACReSAL and the Ministry of Environment to ensure the completion of the Gully erosion control project of Omigbo to reduce the suffering of the people in the area.
