Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto
The Sokoto State Government has paid the sum of N1billion as counterpart funding for Agro-Chemical Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACRESAL) projects to curb desert encroachment.
The Governor of Sokoto State, Dr. Ahmed Aliyu, made this known at a stakeholders’ forum organised in Sokoto by the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, and Water Resources, Sokoto State, in collaboration with World Bank.
Aliyu said that the state government’s investment in environmental and water management has brought about desired change in the state.
He said: “Our past collaborations have impacted positively on target beneficiaries, and it is our hope that going forward, we can deepen access to portable water for drinking and irrigation has boost agricultural production especially in the rural areas.”
He stated that the aim of the project is to combat environmental degradation, provide food security and job opportunities for the teeming youths in the state.
The governor noted that as part of the government’s commitment over 800 men and women, including youths, have been mobilised and trained on grievance redress mechanism and business management for the Community Interest Group (CIGs).
He further explained that over 3,000 people have been mobilised and sensitised about the project, stressing that there is on-going establishment of 40 kilometre shelter-belt in Wurno Local Government Area (WLGA) to build defenses against wind there-by forming breaks for farmlands and homesteads in nine communities of Wurno.
“We also established a 500Ha Forest Enrichment Plantation also in WLGA, designed to improve the ion that threatens the fertile Fadama Land in Wurno and surrounding areas continue unhindered,” he said.
He maintained that the state has also established 7000Ha Agro Forestry with Moringa Oleifara (Zogale) trees to improve the food security of beneficiary communities.
He said that the project would restore for the state 19,000,000 M3 (nineteen million cubic meters) of water in Lugu Dam and would rehabilitate 1,300Ha (one thousand, three hundred hectares).
Aliyu called on World Bank to consider easing the procurement processes, saying this would encourage them to partner with more agencies for development of the state.
He thanked the World Bank and federal government for including Sokoto State in the project.
On her part, the practicing manager of World Bank, Ms. Lia Sieghart, said that the World Bank is concerned about the effect of climate change in Nigeria.
Sieghart added that the project is meant for 19 northern states, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja over a time frame of six years.
She sought cooperation of state and federal government for full implementation of the project.
Also speaking, the National Project Coordinator of ACRESAL, Mr. Abdulhamid Umar, thanked Sokoto State Government for living up to expectation by paying it counterpart fund.
Umar said that the agency would collaborate with relevant MDAs for policy implementation.
He lauded the World Bank for partnering with the agency in combating environmental degradation and helped in boosting agricultural production in Northern Nigeria.
The team visited Wurno shelter belt at Achida and Lugu Dam in WLGA of the state.
