kebbi Govt Earmarks N21m To Tackle Desertification

abubakar-atiku-bagudu

The Kebbi State Government has earmarked N10 million for the planting of one million trees as part of efforts to establish the Green Belt Forestation programme against desert encroachment.

A statement by Umar Gulma of the Ministry of Environment in Kebbi on Saturday indicated that the ministry will grow the nurseries and plant the trees along designated locations.

According to the statement, the ministry will also spend N11 million on the construction of perimeter fences to protect the trees as well as nurture them to maturity.

The ministry will also spend N6 million on surveys of the mineral resources available for commercial exploitation as part of efforts to generate revenue, provide employment and ensure rapid development.

The statement also indicated that efforts would be made to protect the environment especially the development of plantations and eradication of tree felling.

The indigenous methods of cultivation, excessive sourcing for fuel wood and indigenous grazing techniques have combined to deprive the environment of its natural vegetation, thus accelerating the incidence of soil erosion.

Other ecological problems afflicting the state include flooding, pest infestation and gullies.

The problem of flooding is restricted more to the Rima valley, and caused by uncontrolled release of water from the Goronyo and Bakolori reservoirs into stream in Sokoto and Zamfara States respectively.