Gov. Soludo to plant 10million trees to tackle menace of erosion in Anambra

By Cyprian Ebele, Onitsha

, 

The governor of Anambra state, Charles Soludo at the weekend has vowed to plant over ten million trees to tackle the menace of erosion that has ravaged various communities in the state.

Governor Soludo made this known at Godwin Achebe Stadium, Onitsha South local Government Area during the official launch of a programme designed to plant at least 10 million seedlings in Anambra State.

He said that the purpose of the tree planting was to curtail the menace of erosion in various communities of the state and the programme will run for the next two years.

His words, “Our environment is our number one existential trait and we must do everything especially in the light of climate change to recover our land.

“Our mission is to make Anambra the greenest state in Africa, we must learn from our past to build sustainable prosperity, we must empower people sustainably”.

He recalled that Malaysia was built largely at the peak of palm revolution, while China rebuilt poverty significantly on the peak of Agro allied industrialization even as South Eastern Nigeria was the fastest Sub region in the world in the late 50s and early 60s on the basis of palm revolution.

He revealed that “1.1 million seedlings have already been distributed between 2022 and 2023, adding that this year and weekend, “We are officially launching the distribution of 100 40,000 seedlings for this year.

“7000 palm seedlings, 200,000 breadfruit(ukwa) which have become extremely expensive, we will bring it back to become a staple food, including 50,000 Orji Igbo, 50,000 bitter kola, and 40,000 pawpaw.

“All these are currently being distributed in the 320 wards in the State, down to the families.

“Today we have talked through that one of the silver bullets, we must reinvent, will be reinvesting our past for us to emerge a big tent by empowering over 1 million households over a period of time by planting at least 10 million  seedlings, economic trees, oil palm seedlings, coconut seedlings,and ukwa.

“We will plant hundreds of thousands of new ukwa trees in Anambra,  bitter kola, pawpaw, soursop, our agenda is to empower people sustainably, we want to give them something to fish for life, build a new industrial ecosystem for life and we will be creating the greenest and the most environmentally ecosystem in Anambra,” he stated 

The Commissioner for Agriculture , Dr Foster Ihejiofor in his welcome address said that it was an exciting corporate journey towards a future in which agriculture was not just a means of sustainability  but a thriving industry that fuels our economic growth.

“This agenda is not just a plan, an unflinching commitment to harnessing the immense potential of our agricultural sector to drive social progress and create opportunities for all, but a testament to Mr Governor’s unwavering dedication to building resilient and prosperous inclusive ecosystem in the state

Speaking, the Chairman of Onitsha South Local Government Area,, Chief Emeka Orji advised the beneficiaries of the seedlings who are tenants to plant the seedlings in the villages and harvest it when the time comes instead of wasting them.

He lauded the Governor for the love he has for the people of Onitsha South and vowed  to facilitate the construction of Bida road, Modebe Avenue, Uga Street, Nkrumah, Orlu Street, behind Top Rank, and adjacent to Achebe Stadium.