By Suzan Edeh, Bauchi
The World Bank-assisted Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project has successfully lifted 41 percent of local farmers out of poverty and reclaimed over one million hectares of degraded land across the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The ACReSAL Task Team Lead (TTL), Dr. Joy Iganya Agene, disclosed this on Monday during the hybrid Additional Financing (AF) Pre-Appraisal Mission held at the Ahmadu Bello International Conference Centre in Bauchi.
Dr. Agene stated that the project has significantly boosted farmers’ incomes, alignment with the World Bank’s core objective of poverty reduction.
She expressed optimism that the impending additional financing from the World Bank would drive poverty reduction figures beyond 50 percent.
Unlike other initiatives that alter designs due to poor implementation, Dr. Agene explained that ACReSAL is maintaining its original framework because of its high performance.
She said that the additional funding will strictly focus on scaling up interventions, reclaiming more land, and expanding community-level impact.
The ACReSAL Task Team Lead commended Bauchi State for its exceptional implementation of the project since its launch in May 2023.
She praised the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, for his deep understanding of donor-funded programmes and consistent support.
The Governor was represented at the event by his deputy, Rt. Hon. Auwal Muhammad Jatau, alongside state commissioners and senior government officials.
Speaking earlier, the National Project Coordinator (NPC) of ACReSAL, Abdulhamid Umar, described ACReSAL as a highly successful project targeted at mitigating climate change, boosting food security, and protecting agricultural yields.
Umar noted that the Federal Government has officially designated ACReSAL as a performing project, which triggered the World Bank’s pre-appraisal process for additional funding.
He explained that Bauchi State was selected to host the crucial mission because it ranks among the best-performing states in the country.
Concluding his remarks, Umar conveyed greetings from the Ministers of Environment, Agriculture and Food Security, and Water Resources and Sanitation, while expressing confidence that the appraisal would culminate in a definitive agreement to secure the additional funding backed by the Federal Government.
Daily Independent reports that the ACReSAL project remains a critical framework for northern Nigeria, focused on landscape restoration, mitigating the impacts of climate change, improving local livelihoods, and boosting food security in semi-arid regions.
The ongoing pre-appraisal mission will finalize the groundwork required for the Federal Government and the World Bank to sign the definitive agreement releasing the next phase of funding.