FG: Drought Has Severely Impacted 40 Million Nigerians

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The Minister of State for Environment, Dr. Iziaq Salako, has disclosed that drought has seriously impacted about 40 million Nigerians negatively and has led to loss of livelihood and thrown many into adverse poverty, especially around the Lake Chad region.

The minister was represented by a senior staff in the ministry, Alhaji Abdullahi Usman, at the celebration of World Environment Day by the United Nations in Nigeria, in collaboration with Greenhub Africa Foundation and Renewable Energy Efficiency Association.

He said Nigeria has undertaken several far reaching actions to reduce the impact of drought on the citizenry but it was no longer enough to prevent further damage to the land as it was necessary to act decisively to reverse and recover what has been lost.

“Land degradation is a global sustainable development concern which threatens the primary productivity of soil, food production system, biodiversity, water availability,  energy, peace security and sustainable livelihood.

“To farmers, herdsmen and agro foresters in Nigeria, land degradation means a constant battle to grow crops, feed livestock and maintain ecosystem stability.

“Globally, a large proportion of people living in poverty and directly affected by land degradation and here in Nigeria, the poorest depend on the land for sustenance and there is a direct connection between land degradation and poverty.

“It is an incontrovertible fact that a healthy land in vital to the existence and persistence of all human societies from food, fodder, water and materials such as timber and fibre, pest, disease control and cultural identity.

“As land becomes degraded, the availability of arable land for agriculture decreases, thereby compounding food insecurity and forcing communities to migrate in search of better living, this invariably leads to conflicts.”