In an effort to combat desertification and improve degraded land in the northern states of Nigeria, a project called ACReSAL, funded by the World Bank, has teamed up with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Dr. Ibrahim Kabir, who leads ACReSAL in Bauchi state, shared this news during a meeting with local stakeholders.
Their goal is to restore 350,000 hectares of degraded land out of a larger target of 1 million hectares.
“We signed an MoU targeting to restore 350,000 hectares of degraded land across the 19 Northern states and the FCT. This is out of the targeted 1 million hectares that was resounding in the project.”
The project involves training local officials on new techniques for large-scale land restoration. These officials will then work with communities to identify areas in need of restoration.
They’ve started by involving forestry officers, agricultural extension workers, and staff from the Ministry of Water Resources across the state.
“We were able to identify the areas in the first stage. We co-opted the Forestry Officers who are in the field across the 20 local government areas of the State, the Agricultural Extension Workers and the staff of the Ministry of Water Resources who are also in the communities particularly the riverine areas of the state.”
Their plan is to focus on areas outlined in a ‘Catchment Management Plan’ to guide restoration efforts.
ACReSAL aims to create mini ecosystems by planting trees, shrubs, and grasses in degraded areas.
They’re taking an integrated approach, involving various government departments to address the challenges.
In Bauchi state alone, they’ve committed to restoring 20,000 hectares of land in 2024, particularly in the harsh northern regions affected by desertification.
They plan to use advanced machinery, like the Delpino flo, to mechanize the restoration process and cover large areas more efficiently.
“So, we are pledging and we are trying to see with this kind of stakeholding we can do to deliver 20,000 hectares. One good thing about it is that the techniques that we are going to deploy are mainly mechanical not manual. ”
By deploying these techniques and involving local stakeholders, ACReSAL hopes to make significant progress in restoring degraded land and combating desertification in Nigeria.
