World Bank through its International Development Association funding, has released over seven hundred million dollars ($700m) for Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project to restore land degradation in Northern Nigeria in the next six years.
The National Coordinator of ACReSAL, Abdulhameed Umar, disclosed this Friday while speaking at the “First SPMU/Stakeholders Workshop, organised in collaboration with the Plateau State Ministries of Environment, Water Resources and Energy and Agriculture and Rural Development, held at the Vel Sunset Hotel Pankshin recently.
Represented by the National Coordinator of NEWMAP, Engr. Ayuba Anda, the ACReSAL National Coordinator speaking on the topic: “Institutional Arrangement and the Role of the State Steering and Technical Committees (SSC & STC)”, said, “This project is being funded by International Development Association under the World Bank.
“The project is to the tune of seven hundred million US dollars (US-$700m) for the period of six years. For this project to be implemented, some states have been identified to participate in this. The project is largely for the Northern part of the country and that is why you hear the name Agro-Climatic Resilience in the Semi-Arid Landscapes of Northern Nigeria.
“So, virtually, all the 19 States including Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are qualified members for the bidding of the project. The project is focusing on landscape restoration which is talking about issues of land degradation in terms of deforestation, poor practices that have to do with our agricultural processes”, he highlighted.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Plateau State Ministry of Environment, Engr. Albert Chaimang, said, addressing the degraded landscape in the state would help in boosting the economy potentials. He urged the participants to help create more awareness in their various communities so that ACReSAL would have a smooth implementation of this project.
Meanwhile, the Plateau State Project Coordinator of ACReSAL, Garba G. Gonkol, commended the stakeholders for defying all odds in spite of daunting insecurity and fuel scarcity to attend this important workshop. He pointed out that “the objective of this activity is to mainstreamthe stakeholders on roles, responsibilities and forestall challenges that may likely impede the smooth implementation of the project.
He highlighted that the workshop was aimed at ensuring a common understanding of ACReSAL by stakeholders in line with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to bring together stakeholders for critical appraisal on agreed actions and activities and deliverables in line with the project implementation issues.
