The National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) has set itself the target of planting 50 million date trees by 2030, with the aim of preventing the deforestation of the land and desertification, for which it has just shifted its national headquarter from Abuja to Kano, to enhance the effectiveness of the organisation in the most vulnerable ecological zone in Nigeria.
The director general of the agency, Saleh Abubakar, said this on Tuesday when the agency’s new headquarters was being inaugurated in Kano. The relocation, which was sanctioned by President Bola Tinubu, is a strategic move he said to get the agency closer to the frontline states plagued by desert encroachment and enhance its environmental restoration activities.
Abubakar revealed that the Kano office already hosts over 50 employees at its office and it will act as the agency’s main operational headquarter.
He said the agency planted five million date trees last year, and has upped its target to 50 million by 2030. The agency also monitors and monitors the seedlings sent to communities to see they are well taken care of and not lost, he said.
The Director General also revealed that the agency secured funds valued of millions of dollars from Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the United Nations, adding that the works that will be funded with the funds will be co-ordinated from Kano headquarters of the agency.
He felt the move would help the agency to be more effective in tackling the problem of desertification and increase the involvement of the community in the Great Green Wall Project.
Abubakar also warned against the sale of government land in the agency premises, saying the land is not for sale as it is the property of the Federal Government.
In addition, the headquarters has been given the necessary facilities, including the accommodation for staff, students’ hostels, administrative complex, conference and training centre, and the soil testing lab, he added, for the smooth functioning of the agency.
