THE Federal Government of Nigeria is not doing enough for farmers to cater for its estimated 200 million population as small holders farmers struggle to cope with impacts of climate change, according to Oxfam, an international charity organisation.
Constant Tchona, Oxfam Country Director in Nigeria who stated this in a statement issued to mark the 2020 World Environmental Day said Nigeria is confronted with various environmental challenges including climatic change, oil pollution, drought and desertification, flooding, erosion, water pollution and solid waste that isn’t bio-degradable.
Tchona remarked that these challenges have resulted into food insecurity, loss of lives and property, destruction of means of livelihoods among other things.
He urged the government to put in efforts to grow four million trees every year which in turn would protect farmers from destructive erosion and help reduce gas emissions by ten percent yearly.
” Farmers as well as the environment would be protected from destructive erosion,” Tchona said.
He added that agro-forestry should also be encouraged in which trees of economic value should be planted noting that more shelter beds should be identified and trees be planted to serve as wind breaks
Nigeria National Determined Contribution (NDC) sectorial plan should, Oxfam said be endorsed and implemented while plans to reduce greenhouse emission by 20 percent unconditional to 45 percent conditional emission reduction below Business as Usual (BAU) by 2030 should be implemented.
According to him, Oxfam recommended the implementation and more funding for the Nigeria National Determined Contribution sectorial plan.
Checks by The ICIR confirms that Nigeria had submitted NDC since 15 May, 2017
The charity group added that stringent measures should be taken by the government to avoid indiscriminate felling of trees, safeguard aquatic life, save our forests thus maintaining biodiversity and discourage bush burning.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94