Green Wall Agency empowers youths and women in 11 northern states

The National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) Programme has commenced skills acquisition programme to train unemployed youths and women in the 11 GGW states.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the GGW states are: Adamawa, Borno, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

This is contained in a statement signed by the Head, Public Relations Unit of the agency, Mrs Larai Daze, and made available to the NAN in Abuja on Thursday.

The statement said the youths and women would be trained on bead making, carpentry, tiling, hair dressing, tailoring, tree planting and baking, among others.

It said the move was aimed at encouraging the communities by supporting them to create alternative means of livelihood and reducing poverty after the insurgency in the areas.

The statement said the development was part of efforts of the agency to assist the country achieve its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

According to the statement, the programme will also rehabilitate degraded lands, protect and improve the quality of farmlands, increase vegetation cover and combat climate change, among many others.

“Success of livelihood is dependent on capacity building of the community members, support from government through enabling policies and providing solutions that fit the social and cultural constraints of the people,’’ it said.

NAN recalls that the Director General of the agency, Mr Ahmed Goni, said that part of the agency’s mandate was to provide alternative means of livelihood to people in its 11 frontline states.