The federal government says the $700 million credit obtained from the world bank will be used to fund the Agro-Climatic resilience in semi-arid landscape projects.
Speaking at a workshop in Lagos, Minister of the environment, Mohammed Abdullahi said the project will enhance sustainable livelihoods in Nigeria.
According to the bank, the project would increase the implementation of sustainable landscape management practices in northern Nigeria and strengthen the country’s long-term enabling environment for integrated climate-resilient landscape management.
The bank said that the productivity of major crops in Nigeria has been steadily declining over the past two decades, in part due to climate change, forcing an expansion of the area under agriculture and increased imports to meet the food needs of Nigeria’s growing population.
It added that persistent water shortages, especially in the extreme north, continue to exacerbate land degradation, desertification, and habitat loss.
Resource shortages, violent conflict, outdated agricultural systems not adapted to changing dryland conditions, lack of access to finance, weak value chain linkages, an uncompetitive environment for agribusiness, and poor market access were identified as other key barriers to increased agricultural productivity in Nigeria.
Consequently, the global body said that better environmental and water resources management and resilience against disaster and climate risks (largely water-related) were needed to sustain economic growth and protect the most vulnerable.
