The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has initiated investment moves to revitalize 18,000 hectares of degraded land in Cross River and Ondo states for sustainable cocoa and oil palm cultivation, with a goal of attracting $200 million in investments to the value chain in Nigeria.
FAO Climate Change Specialist, Ms. Nifesimi Ogunkua, gave this on Monday during a four-day FAO Participatory Informed Landscape Approach (PILA) Workshop in Calabar.
A news report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) indicated that project would revitalize 10,800 hectares in Cross River and 8,000 hectares in Ondo through regenerative agriculture and forestry practices.
According to the report, the main objectives of the FAO’s intervention include developing two Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) frameworks at the state level, creating four integrated land-use plans at the local government level, and strengthening four gender-sensitive policies, regulations, and financing frameworks to advance sustainable land management.
The NAN’s report partly reads: “The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and its partners are to support the restoration of 18,000 hectares of land in two states for the sustainable cultivation of cocoa and oil palm.
“The key deliverables of the project include the creation of two Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) frameworks at the state level and four integrated land-use plans at the local government level.
“Additionally, the project aims to strengthen at least four gender-sensitive state and federal government policies, regulations, and financing frameworks. It also targets an increase of up to $200 million in private and public investment in the sustainable cocoa and oil palm value chain”, the news agency added.
Ogunkua was quoted as saying that the project will address gaps identified by the Federal Government as they related to the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
Supported by funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and FAO, the initiative is also designed to promote integrated landscape management and focus on empowering smallholder farmers to adopt sustainable land management practices, improving land tenure systems, and enhancing women’s access to land. It also prioritizes environmentally responsible cocoa and oil palm production to ensure long-term sustainability.
An Assistant Director of Land, Environment, and Climate Change at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Iyabo Mustapha, was also reported to have stressed the importance of the project in helping smallholder farmers align with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), ensuring their competitiveness in European markets.
She cautioned that failure to address environmental challenges could have lasting negative implications for future generations in view of the climate devastation.
Mustapha explained: “The Federal Ministry of Agriculture is also introducing additional support packages for these farmers. If we fail to address these environmental concerns, the long-term impact could be detrimental—we may not have a viable environment for future generations.”
