NCF Plants Over 250,000 Trees in 2023

The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has boosted the economic value of 1,000 Nigerians with the planting of 276,860 trees in 2023 in its Green Recovery Nigeria (GRN) programme. This was contained in a statement on Thursday signed by Oladapo Soneye, Head Communications, NCF. Soneye said the overall goal of the GRN programme was to contribute […]

The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has boosted the economic value of 1,000 Nigerians with the planting of 276,860 trees in 2023 in its Green Recovery Nigeria (GRN) programme.

This was contained in a statement on Thursday signed by Oladapo Soneye, Head Communications, NCF.

Soneye said the overall goal of the GRN programme was to contribute and facilitate a reforestation scheme in 25 percent of Nigeria’s total landmass.

According to him, the GRN is a 30-year programme that will run from 2017 to 2047, while simultaneously promoting actions to curb further deforestation and forest degradation.

He mentioned other activities of the programme to include fuel-efficient cook stove training, provision of clean water, employment as eco-guards, tree nursery raising, enterprise development around non-timber forest products and many others.

Soneye noted that the livelihood support component of the GRN programme was to reduce total dependence of communities on the forest and to reduce deforestation caused by fuel-wood extraction.

Others are encouraging conservation of wildlife, and preventing hideouts of criminals in the forest reserves.

He listed some of the beneficiary communities in the livelihood component to include Iko Esai and Becheve in Cross River; Ajingi in Kano; Guzape in Abuja; Awka-Etiti in Anambra, among others.

“The tree planting exercise happened across the six geo-political zones of the nation. Economic trees planted include avocado, mango, cashew, orange and timber trees like Melina and teak among others. The trees were planted in forest reserves, national parks, community forests, secondary schools, and tertiary institutions among others,” Soneye said.