ABUJA – THE Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, Thursday, expressed concern over the increasing adverse effects of climate change on food production in Nigeria.
Akume represented by the Technical Assistant to the SGF, Prof Babatunde Bolaji Benard in a keynote address delivered at a ‘High-Level Stakeholder and Policy Engagement on Climate Change, Sustainable Land Use and Agriculture’ noted that in Nigeria, the adverse effects of climate change are seen to have caused, and aggravated the competition for natural resources.
The meeting was hosted by African Center for Climate Action and Rural Development, ACCARD Initiative and African Climate Change Foundation, ACCF, in Abuja
He said: “Climate change has adverse effects now more than ever before. It is threatening human existence. The very existence of humanity.
“Food shortage, and hunger in demand, this is exacerbated by unsustainable land use.
“Application of agrochemicals. We no longer weed the farms. Now, we must spray even if it is just one square meter.
“Biodiversity and livelihood losses, as well as greater conflicts, the ever-growing human population and worsening climate change impacts are driving food conflicts and low productivity.
“We use chemicals to spray the weed there. This leads to loss of fertile lands, and of course natural capital resources, I believe that given the caliber of stakeholders and participants, and its high stakeholders engagement. The challenges and prospects of climate change adaptation in other states will be totally swayed
“Unless the solutions are adopted, the government and people of Nigeria are thus looking forward to the recommendations as part of the outcome of this engagement.”
Meanwhile, the SGF counseled on the best strategies to apply to improve adaptation.
“To improve adaptation strategies. Governance and usage in policy and decision making.For the benefit of the citizenry. In particular, and of course the world at large, the principle of sustainable land use change is critical at this juncture, and revolves around how human activities transform natural landscape.
“Driven by factors like population growth, economic development. And technological advancement. This transformation involves converting land from one use to another, such as from forest to agricultural land or from agricultural to urban areas.
“Understanding these changes and their driving forces is crucial for sustainable land management and mitigation potential
“The potential negative impact on our human environment can only be averted if the land is used sustainably, land must be used sustainably for obtaining the maximum benefits.
“This entails careful use of application of fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides to land during agricultural cultivation, use of land for roads, rails, buildings and simple infrastructure.”
According to him (Akume), the federal government makes commitment to fostering an endeavoring environment for eco-friendly solutions, and Nigeria has demonstrated this in its commitment to global climate action by signing the power agreement, and other steps.
“Let me therefore, reaffirm to you that President Bula Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, is committed to supporting climate change, safe healthy food initiative aimed at resilient living, sustainability and prosperity for all Nigerian citizens.
“As I have assured you in my office, during your visit two days ago, your findings and suggestions from this discussion is awaited by the federal government of Nigeria in every possible incorporation into the decision making process.”
He also made an appeal to Nigerians to support the Tinubu-led administration to “build a nation that will inspire pride amongst generations to come.”
Also in a remark, the Founder, African Center for Climate Action and Rural Development, ACCARD Initiative, Amb Freeman Eloho, expressed deep concern over Nigeria’s food system threatened by climate change, herder-farmer conflicts, use of chemicals, and other issues.
Eloho explained that the essence of the High Level Stakeholders Convening/Meeting, which the aim is basically to critically look “at the nexus of climate change and how it’s driving changes in the Nigerian food system, people and the environment.”
He further stated that climate change is going to have multiple challenges and these challenges are worsening everyday.
“Looking at the food system people are eating unhealthy food. With a population of 200million people, there needs to ensure that food in the market are safe for consumption.
“We are convening this meeting with the African Climate Action Foundation and bringing in top government discussion
“We are bringing in this meeting to find solution to climate change and sustainable land use and that is why we have brought in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, Budget and National planning, SGF to find solution. What solutions are we proffering?
“In Nigeria, we have been talking about farmer-herder crisis that it is political but we know climate change drives a a lot of changes
But first let’s talk about policies, it is policy that drive the system.”
Meanwhile, he pointed out that unsustainable policy has been a challenge in the mitigation of climate change in Nigeria.
“ACCARD is working with the Nigerian government to help put the right policy structure in place. We are also engaging with the World Bank and other development financing partners to enable the government access more intervention fund for sustainable development goals”, he added.
The World Bank also disclosed that, “Nigeria is recognised as highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and it is ranked 154th out of 183 countries in the 2022 Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index. So Nigeria is extremely vulnerable to climate change.
“Soil erosion risk could rise over 1,000 tonnes per hectare higher in some regions, further threatening crop productivity. Based on statistics from the United Nations Convention on Desertification, Nigeria loses an estimated 250,000 to 400,000 hectares of land to desertification each year. In the north, desert encroachment created land loss of about 48 million.
“Nigeria lost over 1.33 billion hectares of tree, covering between 2001 to 2023, with about 88.6 per cent of deforestation being attributed to small-scale agriculture.”