The National Project Coordinator of Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL), Abdulhamid Umar, has stated that the agency is developing strategic management plans to facilitate its projects in catchments of the benefiting states in the northern Nigeria to achieve its target of restoring one million hectares of degraded land.
Umar disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Engagement Workshop for the Development of Sarki-Powa-Kaduna , Okwa-Mada, Gurara-Gbako, Lokoja -Niger, and Aloma-Ebonyi, as part of the 20 strategic catchment management plans being developed for Nigeria. According to the ACReSAL boss, the workshop was designed for the benefiting catchment areas from 10 states, including Kogi, Kano, Niger, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Benue, Kaduna, Katsina, Bauchi and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Umar, who was represented by Engr. Shetima Adams, explained that the development of the 20 strategic catchment management plans is the bedrock of the implementation of the ACReSAL project, creating the platform and structure into which the micro catchment management.
Umar stressed further that ”the objective of the stakeholders workshop is, therefore, to derive a shared vision of the strategic stakeholders’ for an ideal riparian catchment that will build and forestall peace in the catchments, taken into consideration the opportunities and challenges in the catchments”. On his part, the Kogi State Project Coordinator of ACReSAL, Barr. Ladi Jato said the gathering of Project Coordinators of 10 states with their stakeholders represents a significant milestone of a collective efforts to protect and preserve the water resources, and ecosystems that sustain our communities.
Jato informed that the state had successfully reclaimed 11,064 hectares of degraded areas; water harvesting initiatives have restored 1,540 hectares of land and increased water storage capacity by 800 cubic meters; and agroforestry and tree-planting activities have so far restored over 3,000 hectares across the entire catchment. “Our interventions were driven by extensive stakeholders’ engagement within the targeted micro watersheds, ensuring that every solution is tailored to both community needs and environmental priorities”, she said. The Kogi State governor, Ahmed Ododo said the ACReSAL projects are more of transformation than intervention that are aimed at improving land use and water supply to the benefit of all.
The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Environment, Engr. Joseph Ouwasegun had warned against reckless use of land in form of age long bush burning, falling of trees for charcoal, blocking of drainages, construction, among others, alleging to be a very potent factors degrading the land. The stakeholders engagement was witnessed by project coordinators, traditional rulers and others from the ACReSAL catchments in the 10 states in the northern Nigeria. The agency is developing a strategic management plans to facilitates its projects in catchments of 10 states in the northern Nigeria to achieve its target of restoring 1m hectares of degraded land, Umar added.
Active journalism costs huge sums of money. To ensure quality and rich agricultural journalism, the support of readers and friends of the publication is required. Donations can be made in Nigerian Naira (NGN). Kindly provide relevant information during transactions and be assured that funds received will be used judiciously and appropriately. For donation to FarmingFarmersFarms, kindly click the link below, call or send message to: +2348095451987.