Desertification, Drought Contribute To Rural-Urban Drift – Director

The Director, Drought and Desertification Amelioration, Federal Ministry of Environment, Dr Bukar Hassan, on Sunday said desertification and drought have contributed to the increasing rural to urban migration in the country.

Speaking with Food Farm News in Abuja, Hassan noted that drought and desertification had also contributed to the climate change with its effect on the country’s economy.

Hassan lamented that drought and desertification had wilted away farmlands of farmers residing in dry land areas.

He appealed to government at all levels to increase budgetary allocation to Ministry of Environment to combat drought and desertification.

He said that increased budgetary allocation would ensure better environment, mitigate the effects of climate change, reclaim farmlands and return life to the rural areas, especially in the Northern parts of the country.

The director, who commended the Federal Government’s efforts toward the fight against drought and desertification, said that more needed to be done to encourage wet and dry season farming.

According to him, the take off fund for the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) was about N10 million and we want government to increase it.

“All the insurgency we are talking about in Nigeria may have a root in land degradation and unemployment.

“In the 80s, Nigerian Government made huge investment in dry land agriculture in dry areas but because of climate change and other factors, these huge projects could not yield the desired results because of lack of water.

“The government should look into these issues critically with a view to assist people living in dry areas.

“What we expect the present administration to do is to ensure that the political will and financial will to combat desertification is increased so that the people can enjoy a better environment and reclaim their farmlands.

“Government has invested much on irrigation which has not realized its objectives so far because of drought, climate change.

“The fishermen do not have water to fish, farmers have no water to farm and they have nothing to do,’’ the director said.

He said the department in collaboration with the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) programme had adopted the bottom approach to help combat drought and desertification in the country.