The Sahara desert is moving towards the South at the rate of about 0.6 kilometres per year. The result is that many lands that were formally good for planting and supporting diverse forms of agricultural and food production activities can no longer continue such support.
Nigeria is sorely affected by this losing about 35000 hectares of land annually in states to the north of the country like Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kebbi, Yobe and Zamfara.
One of the efforts by governments to beat the rapid desertification and also boost food security while supporting the mist affected communities’ adaptation to climate change is the Great Green Wall.
Recently, the government of Nigeria reiterated its commitment to tackle desert encroachment in the country during the official flag-off of training for youths and women on various skills, under the National Agency for the Great Green Wall.
Read also: Gombe losing 600m of land to desert encroachment annually, says GGP
At the event which took place in Kano, the Minister of Environment, Mohammad Mahmud said his ministry is working towards ensuring that desert encroachment is completely addressed.
Read also: How Gombe combats erosion, ecological problems through tree planting
Mahmud noted that the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (GGW) is a collaboration of eleven African countries aimed at planting enough trees to curtail desert encroachment.
He added that part of GGW activities includes youth empowerment, which is aimed at improving the livelihood of the people.
According to the Permanent Secretary, Kano State Ministry of Environment, Alhaji Garba Saleh the state is working on distributing two million tree-seedlings to farmers and households in the state to plant as their own contribution to the fight against desertification.
