24,000 Economic Trees to restore degraded land, boost farmers’ resilience in Bauchi – Foundation

By Ayuba Maffi, Bauchi

The Foundation for Sustainable Smallholder Solutions (FSSS), with support from the HEINEKEN Africa Foundation and Nigerian Breweries Plc, has planted 24,000 economic trees across farming communities and schools in Bauchi State as part of efforts to restore degraded land and strengthen farmer’s resilience to climate change.

Project Manager of FSSS, Timothy Azakere, disclosed this during a training program for more than 70 farmers on agroforestry and climate-smart farming practices in the state.

Azakere said the initiative also supported the establishment of eight learning sites that would serve as practical platforms for Farmer Field Schools, enabling farmers to acquire hands-on knowledge on how to establish, manage and integrate trees into their farming systems.

According to him, 6,500 economic tree seedlings were distributed to 500 households, with each household receiving 13 seedlings to establish permagardens.

He explained that agroforestry sites and household permagardens accounted for 12,173 trees, while an additional 70 trees were planted in secondary schools, bringing the first-phase total to 12,243 trees.

The tree varieties planted include mango, citrus, guava, cashew, plantain, banana, morning, gliricidia and papaya, selected for their environmental, nutritional and economic benefits.

Azakere said the intervention would help farmers regenerate their soil while creating additional sources of food and income, noting that the economic value of the trees would become more visible as they mature.

“We’re using agroforestry to regenerate the soil. The same fruit forests will also be used as an economic means for the farmers,” he said, adding that the trees were expected to begin fruiting within the next three years.

He said farmers would consume the fruits and sell the surplus to generate additional income, while one of the beneficiaries expressed optimism that the seedlings would provide both food and future economic opportunities for households.

Also speaking, an agricultural expert and consultant, Paul Tamen, said farmers were trained in good agronomic practices for establishing and managing economic tree crops, including land mapping, farm layout, spacing, planting and seedling management.

The agroforestry intervention forms part of the broader ESTRRA Project, which aims to support the restoration of 29,000 hectares of degraded land across Bauchi North through regenerative agriculture, land restoration and climate-smart farming.

The three-year ESTRRA Project is being implemented across seven Local Government Areas of the state—Katagum, Shira, Jama’are, Giade, Itas-Gadau, Zaki and Gamawa—with a focus on improving livelihoods while promoting sustainable land management and climate resilience.