The Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL), in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, on Wednesday, carried out a tree replanting exercise in Gumawa community, the Gabasawa Local Government Area of Kano State.
The exercise is part of an ongoing land restoration effort in Kano under the ACReSAL project, which targets the recovery of 350,000 hectares of degraded land across 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking during the exercise, the Focal Point for the ACReSAL-FAO collaboration, Precious Agbesor, said the initiative was aimed at replacing trees that failed to survive after initial planting last year.
“We are here to assess what did well and what we didn’t. Today alone, we’ve planted 20,000 indigenous trees, and more will be planted to replace the dead or missing ones,” he said.
Agbesor said the land preparation was done last year using a Delfino machine and added that the restored land, estimated at 100 hectares, could be converted to farmland by next year to boost food production.
“This is one of the quickest wins of the project. If this land is restored, it will benefit the community, the state, and the country,” he said.
Also speaking, a forestry expert with the FAO, Marc Parfondry, said the replanting was necessary because land restoration is a long-term process that requires continuous monitoring.
“When you return a year after planting, it’s normal that not all trees survive. So we are here to fill the gaps and ensure this site is fully restored,” he said.
Parfondry noted that the trees planted would provide non-timber forest products such as fruit and fodder and help in climate change mitigation through carbon absorption.
“The vegetation cover also helps communities adapt to extreme weather events like drought, flooding, and sandstorms,” he added.
The Natural Resources Officer at FAO in Bauchi State, Nasir Audu Umar, said he was in Kano to assess the state’s restoration efforts and learn from its experience.
“Kano was one of the frontline states last year. We saw both successes and failures, and we will replicate the best practices in other states,” he said.
A resident of Gumawa, Usaini Alhassan Abdullahi, welcomed the project, saying it would improve their environment and support community livelihoods.
“This is for our development,” he said, noting that the restored land would create farming opportunities for locals.
The project is part of broader efforts to address land degradation, food insecurity, and the impacts of climate change in northern Nigeria.
