Kogi govt sets plan in motion to address climate change
The Kogi State Government has Flagged off the aggressive planting of 17,166 trees and promotion of climate-smart agriculture in the three Senatorial districts of the state. The tree planting project was made through the State Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes, (ACReSAL). The Project Coordinator of ACReSAL, Ladi Ahmed Jatto, made the disclosure at the flag-off ceremony in Kabba, Kabba Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State. Jatti said the project aims at restoring 600 hectares of land, with support for 150 farmers with improved maize seedlings for dry season farmers for farmers in Kabba. She described landscape management as important to agriculture, adding that the ACRESAL project in the state has started yielding dividends under Governor Yahaya Bello's led administration. To cushion the over-reliance on firewood and stop the further release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the State Government she disclosed has provided 303 clean cooking stoves to women in the Western Senatorial District of State, said 100 women in Kabba Bunu are part of the beneficiaries. Similarly, towards reducing the sufferings of women searching for clean water and relying on boreholes powered by fossil generators, the administration she disclosed has installed 21 solar-powered boreholes and street lights in some communities, seven in the Western Senatorial District, with 50 solar-powered street lights across the Senatorial District. Jatto lamented the negative impact of felling trees, saying, " Trees help to absorb dangerous gases, release into the air as well as hold the soil together. " Trees help in reducing flooding, absorb all bad emissions and help in releasing clean energy". " Trees help in healing, the reason why the people of Kabba Bunu LGA must embark on aggressive planting of trees ". " Are we happy with degradation, change in the weather pattern, comfortable with extreme weather conditions, erosion swallowing home and biodiversity? The Project Coordinator described the negative impact of climate change and global warming as caused by activities of man, adding that tree felling leads to the release of harmful gases into the atmosphere.