A European Union-funded project Fuel Wood Balance (FUWOBA) has distributed 490 water-pumping machines to some selected dry-season and irrigation farmers across seven local government areas in Katsina State.
FUWOBA is aimed at improving food security especially in areas facing challenges of deforestation and desert encroachment, is being implemented by Oxfarm.
The Representative of the Director, International Cooperation in the Federal Ministry of Budget and Planning at the event, Adesokan Jimoke, said the Ministry appreciated the project’s implementation strategies.
She stated that the distribution of the water-pumping machines would go a long way in improving the productivity of the farmers. It would also contribute to the success of Katsina State Government’s fight against deforestation and improve access to renewable energy.
The beneficiarly local government areas are Baure, Dutsi, Daura, Maiadua, Mashi, Sandamu and Zango.
Also, in its continued efforts in the fight against Desert encroachment, the State Government has set aside over 500,000 assorted tree seedlings for distribution across the state for planting.
The state project manager, Chris Udokan, stated that the gesture was to assist farmers to produce more economic trees and crops as well as non-timber forest products from their lands and to also generate income from sustainable environment protection activities.
He added that the FUWOBA project had previously assisted some farmers in the State with bags of fertiliser, herbicides, insecticides, and tree seedlings.
