From Abubakar Abdullahi, in Lafia
Due to its commitment to the activities of Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes project, the Nasarawa State has been promoted to benefit from the second tier services of the project.
ACreSAL Task Team Leader and Senior Environmental Specialist in World Bank, Joy Ageni revealed this during an engagement with Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule in Lafia.
ACreSAL is a World Bank assisted Project aimed at addressing the challenges of land degradation and climate Change in Northern Nigeria on a multi-dimensional scale.
The ACreSAL Team Leader said under the project unlike others where the organization have the phasing system, “in ACreSAL for the state to access funds for investment the benefitting state has to go through some process”
“The criteria includes technical and demonstration commitment where the technical aspect is the banking design while the demonstration commitment is the physical activities carryout in the project”
She said “without commitment and demonstration of the activities done so far the organization wouldn’t have been in the state and because of the success recorded the state has qualified to move from tier 1 to tier 2”
The ACreSAL Team Leader promised that the project would do necessary documentation and guide state on how to access additional funding which can help in investments that will benefit especially vulnerable communities in the state.
In his own speech, Country Representative Food and Agricultural Organization(FAO) Kofi Dominick described the state as one of the leading agricultural potentials and renewed the organization commitment towards working hand in hand with the in promoting agro businesses activities in the state.
On his part, National Project Coordinator ACreSAL Abdulhamid Umar said the job of the organization requires more hands to succeed hence the need to involve several ministries in it.
Governor Abdullahi Sule while addressing the team attributed the state success in the project to the judicious used of funds by the state.
He said “the state government has make sure that money are spent judiciously that is why we achieved not only in the project but other activities”
Governor Sule who also said moving the state to the tier 2 of the project would go a long way in encouraging the participation, maintained that the state partnership with ACreSAL and other organizations is helping the state to develop in different sectors of the economy.
Meanwhile, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars has been disbursed to ten farming communities in the state by ACreSAL.
Governor Abdullahi Sule of the State on flagged off the disbursement of $250, 000 World Bank facilitated Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) loan to farmers from 10 communities in the state.
Speaking at the event in Doma Local Government Area (LGA) the governor said that the disbursement was in line with the vision of the state and Federal Govern to support farmers to boost production of farm produce.
