By Makafan Joseph
Kogi State Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project has commenced the distribution of seedlings in Lokoja.
The flag-off which was performed on Thursday at the State Ministry of Environment is targeting over three hundred hectares of land across Kogi State.
State Project Coordinator of ACReSAL, Barrister Ladi Jatto while performing the ceremony, said the campaign was aimed at addressing land degradation; reduce poverty and the effects of climate change on the environment, humans and agriculture in northern Nigeria.
Barrister Ladi, noted that, the project is in line with the Federal Government’s intention to take one hundred million people out of poverty by twenty thirty, as well as recover four million hectares of degraded land by twenty thirty.
The State Project Coordinator commended Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for the initiative at addressing the effects of climate change in the state, noting that, the Governor flagged off the presentation of cheque in the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to two hundred and eight identified local farmers.
In his remark, the Commissioner for Environment, Mr Joseph Oluwasegun, said the initiative of seed distribution was an important step to enhance afforestation efforts across the twenty one Local Government Areas in Kogi state.
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09-08-2024 ACRESAL TWO
The Commissioner implore the people to embrace the initiative with seriousness by planting the seedlings in private spaces, participating in community afforestation events or educating others on the importance of tree planting.
Mr. Oluwasegun thanked Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for releasing of State’s counterpart fund on ACReSAL project.
He commended the Commissioner of Agriculture, Mr. Timothy Ojomah and his Water Resources counterpart, Engineer Yahaya Farouk for their contributions to the success of the project.
Some of the beneficiaries who spoke at the event described the flag-off as laudable, assuring that the message of tree planting will be spread to save the environment.
COV MKF/IOB END
