Eight northern Nigerian states back a $500 million top-up for drylands project
The ACReSAL programme, which restores degraded land in the semi-arid north, counts 4.4 million direct beneficiaries. Supporters want additional financing to extend it.
Abuja — Eight states in northern Nigeria are backing a proposal for $500 million in additional financing for a project that restores degraded land and helps farmers cope with a drying climate, Premium Times reports.
The project is known as ACReSAL, short for Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes. The states named are Plateau, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Kebbi, Kaduna, Jigawa and Benue.
The support was announced at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday by Abubakar Tsanni, director-general of the Think Nigeria First Initiative.
What the project has done
According to figures given at the briefing:
- the project counts 4.4 million direct beneficiaries, 47% of them women
- participating states have released ₦22 billion in counterpart funding
- a Community Revolving Fund of $9.5 million has been shared among 381 communities
University students in Plateau, Kogi and Kebbi have been trained in greenhouse farming under the programme. The federal ministers of environment, water resources and agriculture took part in a mid-term review in Kaduna.
Why it matters
Northern Nigeria lies on the southern edge of the Sahel, where desert is advancing, rainfall is becoming less reliable and soil is being lost to erosion. Competition for shrinking farmland and pasture is one of the pressures behind conflict between farmers and herders in states such as Plateau and Benue.
Premium Times notes that Plateau State's own formal position, and the size of any new counterpart funding it would commit, were not set out in detail.
This report is based on reporting by Premium Times. The additional financing had not been approved when it was written.
