The World Bank has commended the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project for its remarkable achievements in land restoration and climate resilience across Northern Nigeria.
ACReSAL, a World Bank–funded initiative, is designed to promote sustainable landscape management in targeted watersheds while strengthening Nigeria’s capacity for long-term, climate-resilient land use.
Speaking at the ACReSAL Stakeholders’ Engagement and Marketplace Showcase in Abuja, the World Bank’s Senior Environmental Specialist and Task Team Leader for the project, Dr. Joy Agene, described the marketplace model as a transformative platform that is conserving water in drylands, restoring degraded land, and generating income for communities.
“The marketplace is a technology where water is conserved in drylands to ensure we are able to produce, sell, and make income. It is a huge investment saving millions of hectares of land in targeted watersheds,” she said.
World Bank’s Practice Manager for Environment, Mrs. Ellysar Baroudy, lauded ACReSAL as an exemplary project within the Bank’s global portfolio but noted that challenges such as climate change, land degradation, and financing gaps persist. She urged stakeholders to remain resolute in overcoming these barriers.
National Project Coordinator of ACReSAL, Mr. Abdulhamid Umar, emphasized that the initiative is people-driven, with interventions that have improved livelihoods, particularly among vulnerable communities.
Other stakeholders, including Dr. Segun Babarinde of the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, and Mr. George Stanley of the Ministry of Finance, highlighted the project’s success in integrating agriculture, environment, and water resource management to boost community resilience.
Traditional ruler, Etsu Kwali, Mr. Luka Ayedo, also praised the initiative, saying: “The project has come to terminate hunger in our community. The intervention has impacted us for good, and I want to say the World Bank has invested rightly.”
The World Bank urged ACReSAL to sustain its momentum, stressing that the project’s achievements could serve as a model for climate adaptation and land restoration efforts across Africa.
