Lafarge, Ogun, NSIA plan to develop under-exploited forestry sector

Ogun State government, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and Lafarge Africa plc have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the joint development of Ogun State Forest Landscape Restoration Project.

Signed during President Muhammadu Buhari’s state visit to France, the MoU will enable the creation of a legal entity to develop the project, engage development agencies and climate change funds, while promoting it to large agriculture and forestry investors.

The project is set to transform 108,000 hectares of heavily degraded land into an arable green area. It is designed to employ innovative approaches to achieve best-of-breed environmental, social and economic results. The scheme’s uniqueness rests in the way it combines land restoration with business development objectives by applying the latest findings of agro-ecology and agro-forestry.

The first part of the area will be rehabilitated through mixed reforestation to provide biodiversity hotspots corridors, allowing nomadic herders to cross the area with their herds and encouraging subsistent farming.

The other part will be leased to agro-industrial investors interested in the development of large-scale tree crop such as cocoa, coffee, rubber and oil palm as well as annual crops such as maize, sesame, cotton and cassava, among others. Forestry projects within strict social and environmental guidelines may also be considered.

In his remarks, Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun State governor, said the restoration and enhancement of the state’s forests would benefit the environment and create jobs in rural communities.

“Increasing the pace and scale of restoration of forests is critically needed to address a variety of threats – including fire, climate change, deforestation and others – for the benefit of our ecosystems and forest-dependent communities. This project will show that enterprise and achieving strong mitigation are mutually supportive in tropical agriculture,” said Amosun.

Uche Orji, managing director/CEO, NSIA, said: “The NSIA Act permits us to participate in infrastructure projects of this nature. We are therefore committed not only to promoting economic development but also to stimulating greater environmental responsibility through the projects we support and participate in.

“We view this project as an important investment in sustainable development and remain focused on facilitating incremental participation in initiatives that reduce carbon footprint across the country and reverse deforestation for the benefit of future generations of Nigerians.”

Peter Hoddinott, CEO, Lafarge Africa, said: ”Our strong commitment to the environment and social sustainability of our operations and the communities within which we operate leads us naturally to support the Ogun State project that promises strong positive impact on these issues, particularly on climate change. The use of agro-ecology and agro-forestry principles in these project will increase their productivity, ensuring the land becomes one of Nigeria’s best carbon capture areas and generating biomass waste that Lafarge intends to use to fire its cement kilns.”