By Abdullahi Jalalludeen
The Director General of the Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW), Mr. Sale Abubakar, has reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to combating desert encroachment in Nigeria.
During a working visit to the Commissioner for Environment in Kano State, Mr. Abubakar emphasized the need for collaboration and support from the state government to achieve the agency’s goals.
He said the agency aims to start planting trees in July and is soliciting the support of the state government in providing plantation sites.
Mr. Abubakar explained that the agency is facing challenges of vandalization at their plantation sites in Gabasawa and pleaded with the state government to expedite action in curtailing the challenge.
The Director General noted that the agency intends to provide five million seedlings this year, and the need for safe plantation sites devoid of vandalization and other challenges is crucial.
The Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Dahiru Hashim, assured the agency of the state government’s commitment to partnering with them in the fight against desert encroachment.
Dr. Hashim highlighted the state government’s efforts in land restoration, where over 37,000 hectares of degraded land have been restored.
He emphasized the need for community involvement in achieving the set objectives and noted that the state government has approved the employment of new forest guards to ensure effective service delivery in securing the seedlings plantations.
The Acting State Project Coordinator, Kano State Agro-Climate Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscape (Kano-AcReSAL) Project, Abdulhamid Bala identified non-payment of forest guards as a major contributor to the vandalization of plantation sites.
He also noted that delay in planting seedlings on the sites provided by the state government has led to encroachment by farmers, and urged the agency to ensure timely provision of funds for the project.
Leave a Reply