Federal Government on Monday said it had commenced utilisation of the N28 billion received from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for tackling climate change in some parts of the country.
At a meeting with House of Representatives Committee on Climate Change, Shehu Ahmed, permanent secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, however, said the money was not enough for the challenges of the climate and environment.
He, however, said the government was ensuring prudent use of the fund for tree planting and afforestation.
Ahmed, represented by Sunday Edibo, director, Agricultural Land and Climate Change, said that government through the ministry had started the planting of five million trees with the support of Great Green World.
He explained that the project undertaken by the government was in some northern states of Katsina, Kebbi, Yobe and Zamfara,.
The permanent secretary said that the adaptation project was expected to last for five years, and called for increased budgetary provisions in keeping with the tenets of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which Nigeria was a signatory to.
In her remarks, Sodaguno Festus-Omoni (PDP-Bayelsa), who chaired the committee meeting, pledged legislative commitment to all aspects of climate change in the country.
She said the committee would soon begin oversights into the 2015 and 2016 budgets performances of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, especially as regards appropriations on climate change.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the meeting was in response to executive-legislative agreement to support all efforts towards the protection of the environment.
On Monday, countries gathered in Morocco for the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) to accelerate work on the rulebook and trigger a definable pathway for developed countries.
This is to materialise the flow of $100 billion per year by 2020 in support of climate action by developing ones.
