The Katsina State Government has recovered 30,000 hectares of degraded land and supported about 2.5 million people through the World Bank-supported project, Agro-Climate Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes.

Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, stated this recently at the launch of the distribution of farm inputs, waste disposal trucks, and 4,000 energy-efficient stoves to women in the state.

Radda revealed that some of the interventions included the construction of the Katsina town stormwater management phase II and the construction of a riverbank for the Jibia flood control phase II.

He said, “Others were purchases of 36 tractors, modern waste disposal equipment, power tillers, improved seeds, insecticides, herbicides, sprayers, and swamp buggy machines for dredging dams and distributing three million tree seedlings, among others. The waste disposal equipment would enhance sanitation, reduce pollution and improve the quality of life of the people.

“Through the intervention, we are addressing critical challenges like desertification, flooding, poor waste management, food security and degradation of our ecosystem.”

Radda commended the World Bank through the ACReSAL project for their support for the environment, health, and prosperity of the future of the state.

The programme coordinator, Yushau El-Sunais-Sani, said under the community resilience building component of the project, they distributed over three million tree seedlings across the state.

He added that in order to ensure protection of the trees, the government, through the project, resorted to distribution of the 4,000 energy-efficient stoves.

El-Sunais-Sani said that they also distributed waste disposal equipment for effective waste management and prevention of floods in the state.

The Commissioner for Environment in Katsina State, Hamza Sule-Faskari, said the procurement of the equipment was not only about improving sanitation but also about safeguarding the dignity of people.

He revealed that the state had recorded tremendous achievements through the project, and that was why the state was awarded by the World Bank and the Federal Management Unit of the project during a review meeting recently in Jos.