By Okerafor Athanasius, Jalingo
Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, has handed a princely $250,000 to 15 communities of six Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the State.
The gesture was part of activities to celebrate the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Day in the North-Eastern State.
Kefas, during the event, on Tuesday, at the gym hall of the Jolly Nyame stadium, Jalingo, also flagged off the ACReSAL Community Resolving Fund (CRF), distribution of climate-smart agricultural inputs, and tractors.
The $250,000 came in form of cheques to the benefitting communities.
ACReSAL, our Correspondent gathered, is a World Bank-financed project designed to tackle the pressing issues of land degradation and climate change in the 19 states of Northern Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Speaking on the occasion, Kefas lauded the World Bank and the ACReSAL Project for their impact in the state and pledged to sustain the collaboration.
He disclosed that partnering with the World Bank has not only transformed the agricultural landscape of the State but also set a benchmark for climate-smart and community-driven initiatives.
According to him, the partnership has raised world-class resources and expertise directly to farmers and communities, adding that his administration is committed to giving farmers opportunities to prosper.
While calling on all stakeholders, government agencies, development partners, private investors, and dedicated farmers to continue to champion the initiative by the World Bank, Kefas added that he is looking forward to deepening collaboration and will continue to scale up the project to transform the state into a model for sustainable agriculture.
In a remark, the Team Leader, ACReSAL Project World Bank, Joy Iganya Agene, lauded what she described as the sportsmanship of Gov. Kefas, saying his commitment to the project led to the state’s graduation from stage one to stage two in the ACReSAL process.
“Of a truth, Taraba State is faced with several challenges caused by climate change but ACReSAL is the bedrock of fighting those challenges, ACReSAL is well designed to handle all the shocks,” Agene said.
While calling on the benefitting communities to judiciously use their resources to fight climate change, Agene added that the proceeds from the disbursement should be used for climate-smart activities.
“Use the resources as your power to fight the issues of climate change”, she said.
In a welcome address earlier, the State Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Aishat Barde, said ACReSAL is offering the needed innovations to address environmental challenges arising from climate change.
Barde, who lamented that women and youth are most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change due to social, economic, and institutional factors that limit their ability to adapt further, advised the beneficiaries of the community revolving fund, climate-smart agricultural implements, and tractors to judiciously handle the equipment.
The National Project Coordinator, ACReSAL, Abdulhamid Umar, commended Gov. Kefas for keying into the ACReSAL project.
He added that without the governor’s commitment, the project would not have been implemented in the state.
