By Fatima Muraina

As part of efforts to ensure that climate change does not affect farming and protection of the environment, Ondo State Government has sensitised farmers on climate change adaptation and global best practices in protecting the environment while doing farming activities.

The sensitisation workshop was organised by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry through Ondo State REDD+ in collaboration with the office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment in Akure to empower relevant stakeholders on carbon credits activities and  to strengthening the capacity of stakeholders at grassroots to translate Climate change adaptation(CCA) and Smart Agriculture to farmers in the state.

In his remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Mr Olayato Aribo, said that the workshop was to help the participants to get strategies and measures on what to do so that climate change would not have effects on farming activities, as well to cultivate the habit of protecting the forests, by not engaging in degradation and deforestation.

This was contained in a press statement signed by the Press officer to the ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Sola Omoboyowa which was made available to the press.

The Commissioner who spoke through the Administrative Secretary of Forestry, Mr David Adesina, said that the state government has put measures in place to tackle climate change by planning of trees, removing of plastic waste from the environment and open up blocked drainage channels for free flow of water among others.

In his remarks, the state Coordinator of REDD+ Project, Mr Andy Adejube commended the efforts and unalloyed support of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment, Hon. Oseni Oyeniyi for initiating the laudable progromme.

The Ondo REDD+ Coordinator stated that the training is to ameliorate the effects of climate change in the state in relation to forest-dependent communities.

Adejube said that there must be drastic reduction of deforestation so that forests will not be destroyed by human activities.

He noted that participants were drawn from communities within  the three (3) pilot sites in the state mainly; Kolawole, Obada , Sopoto Sopete in Ondo East Local Government and located in the Queen’s plot forest reserve axis, where there is total ban on felling of wood and Owani in Ose Local Government area of the state.

He explained that the participants included Community Based Women Organisations and Civil Society Organisations so that they could go back and train others the knowledge they acquired.

The Programme Manager, Climate Sustainable Development Network Nigeria, Mr. Steve Abu, who presented a lecture at the programme called for collective efforts of relevant stakeholders and agencies to combat the menace of climate change in Nigeria.

His words: “ We want to ensure that they are strengthened on climate change adaption and smart agriculture so that they can replicate the knowledge in their rural communities to farmers and women on how to build resilience to climate change impacts, especially those that are from forest-dependent communities to train them on alternative sources of livelihood, that is sustainable agricultural practices that can help them to withstand negative impacts of climate change”