The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the federal government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to restore 350,000 hectares of degraded land in the 19 northern states of the country including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The agreement is part of the Action Against Desertification (AAD) initiative which aims to support the implementation of the FAO Agro- Climatic Resilience for the Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACRESAL) for sustainable management practices in targeted watersheds in northern Nigeria.
The project intends to also deploy delphino plough and tractors to achieve large scale landscape restoration to create jobs, enhance livelihoods and create access to market and value chain development.
According to the MoU, the FAO will provide technical support while the federal ministry of environment, agriculture and food security and water resources will drive the project with finance from the World Bank.
At the signing ceremony in Abuja yesterday, FAO representative ad interim in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Dominique Koffy Kouacou, pointed out that the new agreement would reinforce collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Environment and FAO and lead to further opportunities to achieve common goal of ensuring a better environment.
He said FAO remained committed to sustain the support to the government and the ministry to protect the environment and sustainably manage and conserve Nigeria’s vast natural resources.
In his remarks, minister of environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, expressed optimism that the agreement would restore large scale landscape and yield evidenced outcomes towards healthy environment, ensuring food security, and well-being of the communities.
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