The Katsina State Government, in partnership with the World Bank–financed Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project, has restored more than 30,000 hectares of degraded land across the state, Governor Dikko Umaru Radda has said.
Radda disclosed this on Wednesday during the flag-off of the distribution of farm inputs, waste disposal trucks, tractors and energy-efficient cooking stoves to farmers and women in Katsina.
According to the governor, the intervention is part of broader environmental and livelihood programmes implemented under ACReSAL, which targets land degradation and climate change challenges in Katsina, 18 other northern states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the project, in collaboration with the state government, has also reached over 2.5 million residents through various environmental, agricultural and livelihood interventions.
“Within the period of two and a half years of our administration, we have, through ACReSAL, implemented land restoration interventions, livelihood activities and service delivery improvements that have resulted in the recovery of over 30,000 hectares of degraded land and reached more than 2.5 million beneficiaries across the state,” Radda said.
The governor explained that the ACReSAL project has addressed critical environmental challenges confronting Katsina State, including desertification, flooding, poor waste management, food insecurity and ecosystem degradation.
He noted that Katsina, like many semi-arid states in northern Nigeria, faces growing pressure from climate change, population growth and unsustainable land use practices, making environmental resilience a key priority of his administration.
According to Radda, ACReSAL was designed to strengthen the capacity of semi-arid states to manage land, water and other natural resources more efficiently while supporting sustainable livelihoods.
At the event, the governor flagged off the distribution of 36 tractors, waste disposal trucks, farm inputs and 4,000 energy-efficient stoves to beneficiaries across the state.
He said the items would boost agricultural productivity, improve sanitation, reduce environmental pollution and enhance the quality of life for residents, particularly women and smallholder farmers.
Radda described environmental protection as a collective responsibility and called on civil society organisations, community leaders and residents to support government efforts by adopting effective waste management practices.
“Katsina can only be clean, safe and sustainable if all stakeholders play their part in protecting the environment,” he said.
In his remarks, the Katsina State ACReSAL Project Coordinator, Yushau Sani El-Sunais, said the project remains committed to addressing environmental degradation while improving the livelihoods of communities across the state.
He said ACReSAL operates through four key components, focusing on land restoration, climate resilience, community livelihoods and institutional strengthening.
According to El-Sunais, the project has planted more than three million trees across Katsina State as part of efforts to combat climate change, curb desertification and restore degraded ecosystems.
He added that the project’s interventions are expected to deliver long-term environmental and economic benefits by improving land productivity, reducing vulnerability to climate shocks and supporting sustainable development across rural and urban communities.
The ACReSAL project is one of Nigeria’s flagship climate resilience initiatives supported by the World Bank, aimed at restoring degraded landscapes and strengthening environmental governance in the country’s most climate-vulnerable regions.