By Muhammad Maitela, Damaturu
The State Technical Committee of Yobe Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) on Thursday held its quarterly meeting by taking some crucial steps in the project implementation.
This was contained in a statement issued by the ACReSAL communication Officer, Ibrahim Baba Saleh, said the meeting was presided over by Alh. Tonga Betara Bularafa, the Chairman State Technical Committee and Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Environment.
The Chairman commended members of the committee for the cooperation being accorded to him toward the success of the ACReSAL project in the state.
He reiterated that the strategic objective of the project was to increase the implementation of sustainable landscapes through land restoration and promote climate resilience agricultural practices.
He further congratulated the ACReSAL SPMU for putting in their best in all the performance indicators, which qualified them as one of the few states that advanced into tier two of the project.
On the progress so far achieved by ACReSAL, the State Project Coordinator, Shehu Alhaji Mohammed, disclosed that the state was among the first to successfully disburse Community Revolving Fund (CRF) loans to 10 piloting farming communities to the tune of N325,000,000.
He listed some of the achievements including the establishment of 170-hectare woodlots/shelter belts, and the procurement of an amphibian excavator (swamp buggy) for dredging and clearing invasive typha grass along the fringes of the Nguru wetland.
Another achievement he mentioned was the approval of engineering design for the construction of 13.7 kilometres of the Damaturu/Buniyadi Gully Erosion Control Project.
Others are procurement of dry season farming implements for onward distribution to farmers, fresh Term of Reference (TOR) was approved for 108 hectares of Oases restoration, as well as support to the State Ministry of Environment in the evacuation of drainages in the major LGAs.
Earlier in their separate contributions, the committee urged ACReSAL to imbibe proper maintenance culture in all project sites.
The meeting was attended by the Permanent Secretaries of the Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources, some Directors from the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, Water Resources, Focal Persons as well as ACReSAL staff.
