Kaduna to plant 500,000 tree seedlings

The Kaduna State government has concluded plans to plant 500,000 tree seedlings as part of efforts to protect its forests and prevent desert encroachment, the commissioner for environment, David Chatjok, has said.

Chatjok made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Kaduna.

He said the seedlings would be distributed to the 23 local government areas after the lunch of this year’s state-wide tree planting campaign.

The commissioner said the trees would be planted in line with experts’ advice, so as to halt desert encroachment.

According to him, the state is prone to desert encroachment due to intense human activities which have depleted its forests.

“The recent demands for firewood and charcoal due to high cost of kerosene and gas have also affected soil fertility.

“It has contributed to the problems of land degradation, soil erosion and drought that endangers livestock population”, the commissioner said.

Chatjok said that the issue of desert encroachment and climate change had increased the rate of deforestation in the country.