‘Desertification if not tackled will spread all over the country’

The Director General, National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW), Goni Ahmed, has said that desertification and land degradation are a very worrying phenomenon that have devastated northern Nigeria and if not tackled will spread across the country.

Goni stated this when he received the Director General, Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), DrMuktariAminu Kano, in his office recently, a statement said.

He said the speed at which desertification is moving, destroying farmlands, livestock and even humans is very disturbing, adding that if adequate measures are not taken, the country might be engulfed by the menace.

According to him, since the inception of the programme, over 600 kilometres of shelterbelts, 200 kilometres of woodlots and almost 300 hectares of orchards have been established, adding that 157 boreholes were sunk and five skill acquisition centres built amongst other achievements.

In his remark, the NCF boss, Dr Aminu Kano, said the task of the agency is not only on environmental issues but also socio-cultural issues such as security, unemployment, poverty and migration, among others which are mostly caused by desert encroachment.

He said the fund is an environmental non-governmental organisation that works to preserve the natural resources and biodiversity of the country.

While noting that the project has been faced with some challenges as with any other government project, he said the agency is not relenting in seeing that the vision and mandate of the GGW programme is achieved.

He appreciated the collaboration with the foundation as a window to other international groups, saying that for the agency to bring back life and hope to the affected people, support from NGO’s such as the NCF that is at the forefront on ecological activities is a welcome idea to achieving the goals of the GGW programme in Nigeria.

He promised giving a major input in bringing in international groups to join in the fight against desertification and land degradation to make sure the GGW is built and completed to help combat desert encroachment and other socio-economic activities in the country.