ACReSAL Lifts 41% of Local Farmers Out of Poverty, Reclaims Over 1m Hectares — Task Team Lead

From Paul Orude, Bauchi

The World Bank-supported Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project has lifted about 41 per cent of local farmers out of poverty.

ACReSAL  has reclaimed more than one million hectares of degraded farmland across 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) within three years of implementation.

The ACReSAL Task Team Lead, Dr Joy Iganya Agege, disclosed this on Monday at a hybrid Additional Financing (AF)/Pre-Appraisal Mission held at the Ahmadu Bello International Conference Centre in Bauchi.

Agege said the increase in farmers’ incomes resulting from interventions under the project had contributed significantly to poverty reduction in the areas covered by ACReSAL.

“Specifically, you will note that the objective and our goal as a development partner, the World Bank, is to reduce poverty, and we have statistics to show that ACReSAL alone has contributed to the reduction of poverty through increase in income for farmers with about 41 per cent. That is huge,” she said.

She expressed optimism that the proposed additional financing would increase the figure to more than 50 per cent.

According to her, the pre-appraisal mission was aimed at reviewing the project’s performance and developing a framework for scaling up interventions under the additional financing window.

She said unlike projects that seek additional financing because of poor performance and therefore require changes to their original designs, ACReSAL had demonstrated sufficient success to warrant an expansion of its existing interventions.

“Typically, when most projects are going for additional financing, they change the design because it didn’t perform very well. But in the case of ACReSAL, we are not changing the design. We are scaling up,” Agege said.

She added that the project would seek to reach more beneficiaries and reclaim additional degraded land beyond the one million hectares already restored.

The ACReSAL chief commended the Bauchi State Government for what she described as its strong commitment to the project, saying the state’s performance had attracted particular interest from the World Bank.

She also praised Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed for his understanding of donor-funded programmes and urged the Deputy Governor, Auwal Muhammad Jatau, who represented the governor at the event, to convey the World Bank’s appreciation.

“His Excellency is one of the governors that we appreciate under the project. He is one of the leading governors under ACReSAL who understands donor funding and the required support,” she said.

Agege further commended project coordinators across the 19 states and the FCT, describing them as the “boots on the ground” responsible for translating the programme’s objectives into tangible results.

She recalled that the project was launched in Bauchi in May 2023 and said its performance since then had justified the push for additional financing.

“Today in September 2026, I can attest that Bauchi State listened and delivered on the objectives of ACReSAL. Congratulations, Bauchi,” she said.

The Task Team Lead explained that ACReSAL focuses on landscape restoration, climate resilience and improved livelihoods in semi-arid communities, adding that the new funding would enable the project to expand successful interventions at the grassroots.

Earlier, the National Project Coordinator of ACReSAL, Abdulhamid Umar, described the project as a high-performing intervention, saying it had recorded significant achievements in restoring degraded landscapes across the 19 northern states and the FCT.

Umar said the project was designed to address the effects of climate change, improve agricultural productivity, protect crops and strengthen food security.

He expressed optimism that the pre-appraisal mission would result in an agreement that would pave the way for additional World Bank financing, with the Federal Government, as the borrower, providing the necessary backing.

He said Bauchi was selected to host the mission because of its strong performance under ACReSAL.

“Bauchi happens to be one of our best-performing states as far as ACReSAL is concerned. We didn’t find it difficult to come to Bauchi because ACReSAL is actually being implemented and delivering results here,” Umar said.

He conveyed greetings from the Ministers of Environment, Agriculture and Food Security, and Water Resources and Sanitation, and commended the Bauchi State Government for its hospitality and Governor Mohammed’s commitment to the project.