North Central States, ACReSAL Collaborate On Climate Change

Stakeholders in the North Central states have decried the increasing impact of climate change on livelihoods in the zone and called for collaborative efforts to address the situation.

At an event organised by the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) the stakeholders agreed that climate change effects such land degradation occasion by incessant yearly floods, decreasing rainfall and deforestation among others had affected agricultural activities in the region.

Agriculture is the main occupation in the area,  contributing more than 30 percent of the country’s yearly agric yields.

The stakeholders drawn from Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Plateau and Taraba states pointed out that climate change had exacerbated the poverty situation in the region as yearly outputs continue to decrease.

Speaking at a meeting with stakeholders in Lafia, Nasarawa State, the national coordinator of ACRESal, Abdulhamid Umar, suggested that the way out is to develop a sustainable resilience plan and holistic implementation of such plan.

To achieve this, he said there was need to constantly sensitise the people to implement sustainable landscape management practices to target watersheds and strengthen environmental plans for integrated climate resilience and maintaining smart agricultural practices.

He listed such practices to include conservation agriculture technologies, reduced tillage, crop rotations and cover crops. Others, he pointed out, are soil conservation practices and nutrient recharge strategies which can refill soil organic matter by giving protective cover.

According to him, to comprehensively bring out the structures and mechanisms for robust and encompassing management plan, there is need for an engagement to hydrological areas in affected states for long term achievement.

Nasarawa State commissioner for environment and natural resources Mr. Kwanta Yakubu said the state government was available to key into such policies to increase implementation for sustainable landscape management across the state.

He called on all stakeholders representing the state to bring to bear their wealth of experience and come up with workable templates and policies to address environmental challenges bedeviling the state.

Other stakeholders acknowledged that implementation of the submissions at the event would ensure food security and improve the livelihood of the citizenry not only in the north central region but the entire country.