Fed Govt to recover 350,000 hectares of degraded land for agriculture

Minister of Environment Balarabe Lawal has said the Federal Government is working with the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nation (FAO) to recover 350,000 hectares of degraded land in the north for agriculture.

The project 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.

Lawal spoke yesterday at a high level ‘Partnering to Scale Up Climate Actions in Fragile and Conflict Affected Situations (FCS) – Zooming in on Food Security’, organised by FAO in Rome, Italy.

The minister also said the government has empowered local communities to complement government’s agencies in safe guarding the forest and farms.

According to him, in collaboration with state governments, the Federal Government has deployed renewable energy kits, solar street lights, solar bore holes, clean cooking solutions as well as construction of good road to communities for economic and security purposes.

According to him, other initiatives introduced by the government included introduction of loans to farmers and other SMSE; solar abattoirs, solar food processing and storage centers.

“Although, Nigeria like the rest of the world is facing some climate crisis coupled with some socio-economic issues, efforts are however being made to combat these challenges to ensure food security and improved livelihoods…”

Source: The Nation