The Great Green Wall Initiative as an integrated action related to issues affecting people’s livelihoods in the sahara and sahel, has one of  its  goals to address the menace of degradation and desertification in the region by engaging the rural communities.

To this regard a capacity Assessment Workshop on Action Against Desertification (AAD) is ongoing in Sokoto under the Great Green Wall project in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Director General, NAGGW, Mr. Goni Ahmed, represented by Mr. Saminu Ado, Head, Afforestation Programme Coordinating Unit (APCU) Kano, said as a framework of action for rural development, the Great Green Wall programme is tremendously important to our rural families and is designed to improve the sustainability, integration and adaptability of dryland agricultural practices to enhance crop production, livestock and fisheries, promote commercialization and marketing of agricultural products, enhance accessibility of farmers, pastoralists and other land users to agricultural inputs, increase security and accessibility to basic resources by affected people especially women among others.

He said the NAGGW approach to the rural development, include provision of opportunities to the grass roots to participate fully in the development programmes and involving the beneficiaries in the development process, stressing that the Agency value sharing and exchange of research based knowledge, local knowledge, values and practice, and mechanism for exchange of and dissemination of technologies information.

The DG applauded the FAO for it’s many concern for the NAGGW and the GGW programme in Nigeria, he noted that a similar workshop was organized a year ago by FAO in Niamey, Republic of Niger on Baseline Assessment and Ongoing Monitoring of Agrosilvopastoral System which five staff of the Agency participated. He expressed joy that women and the youth are among the participants of the workshop saying that women are very good managers of natural resources and the youth, vanguard of positive change. He urged them to use the information gathered to apply to their different organizations and communities.

In her own speech, the FAO representative, Dr. Louise Sethwaelo, read by Mr. Rabe I. Mani, Assistant FAO representative, said FAO’s approach to overcome hunger and poverty, ensure sustainable management of resources, building resilience of local communities and landscapes, urgent and global action is needed.

She said capacity development is at the core of FAO’s global mandate, stressing that FAO support member countries to build their capacities for better policy formulation and strategy development, implementation of programmes, monitoring and evaluation, including support to communities to ensure sustainable livelihoods.

The Action Against Desertification (AAD) which is a support project to achieve the objectives of the Great Green Wall for Sahara and Sahel Initiative (GGWSSI) project, is a Pan African Progrmme launched by African Union, with the aim of addressing land degradation and desertification in the sahara region, boost food security and support communities to adapt to climate change.

The AAD intervention is been implemented in Nigeria to cover two main very populated basins: the Sokoto basin with one site in Basanta/Tangaza community in sokoto state and the chad basin in Jeke community of Jigawa sate and Maluri community in Bauchi state. The implementation of the GGWSSI in Nigeria is the country’s responsibility and will be led and own by the country.

In attendance at the workshop are representatives from NAGGW (Nigeria), FAO (Ethiopia and Rome), FAO (Nigeria), NOA, WAI, BUK, State Ministries of Environment, Water Resources, Animal Resources, Animal Livestock, NAGGW Niger, NGO’s and community members from the GGW corridor.

Larai Daze
Head,  Press and Public Relations.