The Permanent Secretary, Federal
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Temitope Fashedemi says Nigeria
Agricultural sector has contributed 24 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic
Product (GDP).
Fashedemi stated this at the
inception workshop on the Abatement of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs)
in the Nigerian Agricultural Sector project on Tuesday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
reports that the workshop aimed to reduce open field burning (No Burn
Alternatives) in the sector.
Fashedemi was represented by Mr
Osadiya Olanipekun, the Director, Agricultural Lands and Climate Change in the
ministry.
He said that the sector also
employed over 70 per cent of the population with predominantly small holder
farmers, adding that a very critical reason emphasis must be on climate
resilience in the sector.
Fashedemi said that the ministry
of agriculture is responsible for developing the agricultural sector of the
Nigerian economy with a view to growing the sector, driving income growth, accelerate
food and nutrition security among others.
”However, in achieving this
mandate, climate change is expected to increase the existing challenges faced
by agriculture as food security and climate change are closely linked.
” There are key opportunities
that exist in the sector to transform
climate-smart systems that addresses both food security and climate
change,” he said.
He said that open burning has
been traditionally used as a cost effective method for agricultural management.
Fashedemi said that Nigeria is
one of the few countries to highlight its commitment to reduce SLCPs.
The permanent secretary said that
this is part of Nigeria’s effort to mitigate the effect of Climate Change in
the country.
Also speaking, Mrs Joy Aderele,
the Country Director, Self Help Africa, Nigeria, said that SLCPs are dangerous air pollutants responsible for
various negative impacts on human health, agriculture and ecosystem.
She said SLCPs are a group of
pollutants that have relatively short lifetime in the atmosphere of a few days
to about a decade and a half in the atmosphere.
Aderele said the SLCPs is an 18
Month pilot project to work with 500 farmers participants to reduce open
burning.
She said that other participants
in the project included 45 agricultural extension officers across the geo- political
zones in the country.
Aderele said that Gboko Local
Government Area in Benue would be used as a pilot to demonstrate successful
approaches to reducing open field burning.
The Project Manager, Self Help
Africa, Mr Julius Awu, in a presentation, said that one of the objectives of
the SLCPs project was to contribute towards Nigeria’s goals of low carbon
development and emissions reduction.
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