A stakeholders workshop for farmers in Kebbi State has been held by the officials of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall Project and the United Nations Environment Project (UNEP) in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the opening ceremony of the workshop, the director-general of NAGGWP-UNEP, Sale Abubakar, said the meeting was basically to discuss issues relating to the owners of sites, farms or lands, forest officials and the traditional rulers on how best to revive the integrated dryland, ecosystems rehabilitation and conservation (IDERRCN).
Represented by the director of Afforestation and Land Management Agency, Alhaji Ahmed Majidadi Bagudo, Abubakar said the meeting would also focus on the implementation of orchards, cattle rearing, schools’ afforestation, roads, skills acquisition, agric and non-agricultural partnership in order to stop people from cutting down trees in the nation’s forests.
He lamented that the cutting of trees has become a daily business by many households as a means of survival which encouraged encroachment everywhere, and therefore, the meeting was expected to come up with solutions to mitigate the menace.
“We visited two of the five major local government areas affected by the deforestation including Argungu and Dandi. We also paid courtesy calls to emirs and sought their blessings and permission for the immediate commencement of IDERRCN project in the areas,” he said.
He said that NAGGWP-UNEP was first introduced by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan but was abandoned and reintroduced by the present government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. “Kebbi State was lucky to be among the 11 states selected to benefit from $3 million facilities,” he added.
According to him, three communities will benefit from the facilities and over 50 households, both women and youths will become self-employed through the programme in Kebbi.
