Governor Yahaya Bello’s government says it plans to plant 17,166 trees across the state to check climate change and promote smart agriculture.

Ladi Jatto, the project coordinator of Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) in Kogi, said this at the launch of the project in Kabba, Kabba-Bunu LGA.

Ms Jatto said the project was aimed at restoring 600 hectares of land, with support for 150 farmers with improved maize seedlings for the dry season, farmers for farmers in Kabba.

She described landscape management as very important to agricultural development.

“ACRESAL project in Kogi has started yielding dividends due to the state government’s friendly disposition to the environment. This is also meant to cushion the over-reliance on firewood and stop the further release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,” Ms Jatto. “Already, the state government has provided 303 clean cooking stoves to women in the Kogi West with 100 women in Kabba Bunu as beneficiaries.”

Ms Jatto added, “We believe this project will help reduce the sufferings of women searching for clean water and relying on boreholes powered by fossil generators.

“Again, the administration has installed 21 solar-powered boreholes and 50 solar-powered street lights across the senatorial district.”

She lamented the negative impact of falling down trees that helped absorb dangerous gases released into the atmosphere and hold the soil together.

According to her, trees help in reducing flooding, absorb all bad emissions and help in releasing clean energy.

“Trees help in the healing reason why the people of Kabba Bunu LGA must embark on aggressive planting of trees. Are we happy with degradation, change in weather patterns, comfortable with extreme weather conditions, erosion swallowing home and biodiversity,” she said.

While disclosing that the land management project, which was a six-year project, had four components, Ms Jatto assured that it would lead to a safe society for people to live in.

Omofaiye Victor, the commissioner for the environment, described the planting of trees as the lifeline for the earth.

Mr Victor, who doubled as the chairman of the tree planting, said the state government had embraced the policy of discouraging deforestation. He appreciated the support of the World Bank in making aggressive tree planting a reality.

(NAN)