The Director-General, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Prof. Adesola Adepoju has said that the Federal Government is planting about 10 million trees in 2022 as part of efforts to check deforestation.
Adepoju spoke on the sidelines of a stakeholders’ workshop on resource mobilisation for the National Forestry Trust Fund which was held on Thursday with the theme: Sustainable Forest Management.
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Adepoju stated that there are no plans to put the exact figures together until the end of the planting season in October.
“The Federal Government is planting in the neighbourhood of about 10 million seedlings this year and we are already on the field,” he said. “At the end of the day, we would have known the total number of trees planted by the multinationals, by the charcoal associations and by farmers,’’.
Adepoju stated that a report would be submitted to the Federal Ministry of Environment after the exercise, adding that the Federal Government was also collaborating with states and private organisations that have land to expand the forest estates.
He however blamed the unavailability of rangers and forest guards for the encroachment on Nigeria’s forests, saying, “Once the rangers and guards are back, they will be able to help the military and other security agencies to comb the forests.
Story was adapted from The Nation.
