The federal government, through the National Agricultural Land Development Authority, has launched a Youth Agroforestry and Climate Action Campaign in Kwara State.

Arewa PUNCH reports that the latest initiative comes after completing the first phase of the programme with the planting of about 5,000 economic trees across four locations.

The campaign, first implemented under NALDA’s Green Hope Project, began in Odogbolu, Ogun State, and later moved to the University of Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory and Barkin Ladi in Plateau State before its final first-phase exercise in Oke-Onigbin, Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State.

Speaking at the tree-planting exercise in Oke-Onigbin on Wednesday, the Special Assistant on Projects to the NALDA Executive Secretary, Salman Ibrahim, said the federal government had approved the planting of an additional 56,000 economic trees across the remaining 34 Open-Field Horticulture Clusters nationwide.

Representing the NALDA Executive Secretary, Cornelius Adebayo, Ibrahim disclosed that about 5,000 trees had been planted during the first phase, with approximately 400 youths participating as volunteers and climate advocates.

“Today marks the completion of the first phase of our Youth Agroforestry and Climate Action Campaign under the Green Hope Project. So far, we have planted about 5,000 economic trees and engaged roughly 400 young people in the exercise across the selected locations,” Ibrahim said.

He explained that the next phase would deepen the campaign nationwide, with more than 2,000 youths expected to participate in the planting exercise and promote climate action in their communities.

“The Executive Secretary has given the approval for us to proceed with another 56,000 trees across the remaining 34 clusters. This phase will also bring more than 2,000 young people into the programme so that they can participate in the planting exercise and take the message of climate action back to their communities,” he said.

According to Ibrahim, NALDA currently has about 38 Open-Field Horticulture Clusters across the country, covering more than 500 hectares, with individual clusters ranging from about five to 20 hectares.

He stressed that the economic trees were being integrated into the agricultural clusters as living perimeter fences, providing an alternative to conventional fencing while creating food, environmental and income-generating opportunities for farmers.

“The trees are not being planted simply for beautification. They will serve as natural perimeter fencing for our horticulture clusters, while also providing food, restoring the environment and creating another source of income for the farmers,” he educated.

The Executive Secretary listed mango, avocado, coconut and fig among the economic tree species being planted, adding that they would complement the production of tomatoes, pepper, okra and other crops in the horticulture clusters.

He said NALDA was also exploring partnerships with relevant climate institutions to register and verify the trees for potential carbon-credit opportunities.

“Each of these trees has the potential to create value beyond its immediate agricultural benefit. Through appropriate partnerships and verification mechanisms, we are looking at how the trees can contribute to carbon-credit opportunities while supporting Nigeria’s broader climate commitments,” Ibrahim said.

The NALDA official said the youth participants, known as Green Hope Ambassadors, were expected to promote environmental responsibility and sustainable practices beyond the tree-planting exercises.

“The Green Hope Ambassadors are expected to become advocates for the environment. Their responsibility goes beyond planting trees; they are expected to understand the importance of protecting our environment and replicate that message in their various communities,” he emphasised.

He disclosed that the campaign formed part of NALDA’s broader commitment to food security, youth engagement, environmental sustainability and climate action, with the authority targeting the planting of one million economic trees by 2030.

Ibrahim further explained that the Open-Field Horticulture component of the Green Hope Project was designed to expand agricultural opportunities for women, who would have access to farmland and also benefit from fruits produced by the trees as they mature.

“Each cluster is designed to accommodate women who will have access to productive farmland. Apart from the vegetables they will cultivate, they will also benefit from the fruits from the trees as they mature,” he noted.

“This is a win-win initiative. The communities benefit from a healthier environment, the farmers benefit from additional agricultural and economic opportunities, while the young people gain the opportunity to participate in climate action and become advocates for environmental sustainability,” Ibrahim insisted.

Also speaking, the Senior Assistant Technical to the NALDA Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Olusegun Owolabi, said the tree-planting campaign was an extension of the authority’s Open-Field Horticulture Programme, one of the three components of the Green Hope Project.

“This programme is an offshoot of NALDA’s Green Hope Project, which has three major components: high-tech production, greenhouse cultivation and open-field horticulture. What we are doing here is the open-field component, where we want to increase food production while creating economic opportunities for our people,” Owolabi noted.

He observed that the decision to incorporate tree planting into the horticulture clusters was also aimed at restoring vegetation and improving the ecological balance of areas being developed for agricultural production.

“We have taken some trees away in the process of developing these agricultural sites, so we also have a responsibility to restore the ecosystem. That is why we decided to plant economic tree crops around the fields. We want to produce food and, at the same time, restore the environment,” he stressed.

Owolabi maintained that the trees would provide long-term benefits to communities, serve as natural boundaries around farms and contribute to biodiversity, carbon sequestration and improved environmental conditions.

According to him, the broader agricultural programme was designed to decentralise food production and reduce dependence on crops transported over long distances.

He pointed out that NALDA would continue to monitor and support the horticulture sites after the planting exercises, with trained farmers expected to manage the farms and nurture the newly planted trees.

“NALDA is the implementation arm of the federal government’s agricultural policies, so we do not plant and walk away. These are intervention programmes, and we remain in contact with the people in the communities where we operate,” Owolabi remarked.

Our correspondent reports that the tree-planting campaign follows NALDA’s broader rollout of the Green Hope Project, under which about 700 women from horticulture clusters across Iponrin, Tsaragi, Asa, Oke-Onigbin, Ijara Isin, Esie, Ilale and Moro in Kwara State have received training in modern horticultural production techniques.

With the first 5,000 trees already planted and another 56,000 approved for the next phase, the federal government is continuing its drive towards the broader target of planting more than one million trees by 2030, using agroforestry to combine agricultural production with environmental restoration and climate resilience.