Forestry stakeholders move to curtail deforestation, desertification, erosion

Stakeholders in Forestry industry have resolved to curtail the menace of deforestation, desertification and erosion in Nigeria, through promotion of agroforestry as an effective tool towards achieving sustainable forest management and environmental amelioration.Towards this, they expressed commitment to planting 25 million trees by 2020, to minimise further environmental degradation.

At the 2019 Agroforestry Farming Systems Workshop, hosted by the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Jericho, Ibadan, Oyo State, themed: “Economic Recovery and Food Security: Green Economy and Environmental Approach,” they also called for an urgent platform to interface with President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly on enduring solution to the nagging problems bedeviling food security in the country.

The stakeholders lamented the mounting effects of environmental degradation across the country, as an aftermath of the rampaging climate change and resolved to curtail the menace of deforestation, desertification and erosion in the country.

While reiterating the necessity for the proposed interface with President Buhari and the National Assembly on the issue of food security, they also suggested the idea of a similar parley with the Governors’ Forum to facilitate the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the tree planting on their land with agreed sharing formula.

A communiqué issued at the end of the workshop also resolved to checkmate the culture of post-harvest losses, by mandating FRIN to train farmers on waste management and production of compost manure from agricultural and household waste, as well as value addition and sourcing of stable market for farm produce.

The communiqué further disclosed that efforts would be intensified in establishing more plantations of indigenous tree species, “especially vitellaria paradoxa and parkia biglobosa because of their economic and nutrition importance.” 

The Director-General of FRIN, Professor Adesola Adepoju had earlier remarked that the workshop was part of efforts of the Institute to showcase its research breakthroughs over the years for farmers and stakeholders to adopt, so as to alleviate poverty, combat environmental challenges, especially in this period of the adverse effect of climate change, to reduce food insecurity, as well as promote green economy and economic recovery.