The Sokoto State government has demonstrated strong resolve to tackle desertification and the vagaries of climate change with the payment of N1 billion as its counterpart funding for the project. The state is working in partnership with the federal government and the World Bank.
This is part of the Agro Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project which is a federal government coordinated and World Bank assisted multi-institutional and multi-sectoral land reclamation and rejuvenation scheme covering the environment, agriculture, and water resources.
Ahmad Aliyu, the governor of Sokoto State, disclosed this at the state capital, Sokoto, when he hosted a team of World Bank agro-climatic officials which visited the state to appraise the ACReSAL land rejuvenation, afforestation and agro-cultivation project in the state.
The ACReSAL team was led by Lia Sieghart, Practice Manager of the World Bank for Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy in West Africa.
Governor Aliyu commended the federal government for the multi-institutional, multi-sectoral ACReSAL initiative which, in his view, will “check desertification and restore degraded land and special eco-system and agriculture.”
The governor disclosed the understanding that “as partner in the project, our role is critical to promote multi-sectoral coordination and cooperation for building climate resilience and better management of land and natural resources.”
He assured that “Sokoto State government is committed, well committed and fully committed to offer any kind of support to ACReSAL project in checking environmental degradation and ensuring the empowerment of our economy and people so that the state will be developed positively.”
The visiting ACReSAL team comprised the Task Team Leader ACReSAL Project / Senior Environmental Specialist at the Word Bank, Joy Iganya Agene, National Project Coordinator, ACReSAL, Abdulhamid Umar, Team Lead, ACReSAL, Sokoto, plus officials of the Federal Ministries of Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources.
Sieghart expressed delight over the state government’s commitment to take ownership of the programme and also to see it to fruition.
Through World Bank financed ACReSAL, the federal government intends to help restore one million hectares of degraded land in the northern part of the country. It is expected that this will, in turn, contribute to the federal government’s commitment to restoring four million hectares of degraded land set for broader landscapes restoration by 2030.
The ACReSAL Project will also help reduce the vulnerability of millions of the extreme poor people in northern Nigeria, strengthening their capacities and having them play roles in achieving environmental sustainability.
A major highlight of the meeting was a visit to the ACReSAL land reclamation and rejuvenation project site at Wurno.
