The National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW), on Thursday kickstarted the first phase of its high level advocacy engagement in Jigawa state as part of it continued efforts to combat desertification across the 11 frontline states of the Northern Nigeria.
The Director-General of NAGGW, Alhaji Saleh Abubakar, led a delegation of the management team of the Agency to pay a courtesy visit to Dr Nura Ibrahim Kazaure, Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change of Jigawa state in his office at the state Secretariat.
Abubakar said that the project would also restore the degraded lands, and enhance climate resilience across the affected states.
The director general said that the visit focused on reinforcing collaboration, assessing ongoing interventions, and identifying new opportunities for sustainable land restoration under the Great Green Wall initiative.
He emphasised the significance of Jigawa State as the premier State for the Advocacy visit due to the pre existing relationship and partnership the Agency had with the State.
” Our presence here is not just for advocacy but to thank the Jigawa State Government for giving the Agency a listening ear, and unending support through providing the land needed by the Agency for planting and land regeneration projects.”
Responding, Dr. Kazaure acknowledged the relationship between NAGGW and the Jigawa State Government as well as thanked the
Agency for according Jigawa the honour of being the first State for the advocacy visit.
” Jigawa State Government is dedicated to working with the NAGGW towards achieving its mandates which also aligns with His Excellency Governor Umar Namadi’s 12 point Agenda,” he said.
He urged the Agency to consider the need for retstrategizing to help curb vandalism of Agency’s projects in communities through increased community engagements and further collaborations with the State Government.
The delegation then paid a visit to Suleiman Farms to inspect the date palm seedlings being raised as part of the Agency’s initiative to supply and plant 5 million date palm trees across the 11 frontline States of the country.
The initiative is in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda towards improving macro economic stability, human capital development and poverty reduction.
NAGGW’s visit to Jigawa State is part of a broader outreach aimed at promoting collaborations, stakeholder engagement, and promoting positive environmental practices in the fight against desertification and land degradation.
