Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, has launched an ambitious environmental campaign aimed at planting and nurturing 11 million trees by 2030, declaring that the initiative is a decisive step towards reversing desertification, tackling climate change and safeguarding the state’s future.
Speaking on Monday at the official launch of the Katsina-One-Tree Initiative (KT1T) in Ladanawa, Rimi Local Government Area, Governor Radda said the programme would begin with the planting of two million trees in 2026 across all 34 local government areas and 6,652 Climate Intervention Areas in the state.
The governor said the initiative goes beyond ceremonial tree planting, stressing that success would be measured by the survival and maturity of the trees.
“A seedling distributed is an opportunity. A tree that survives is an achievement. We will not count ceremonies; we will count living trees,” he declared.
Radda described climate change, desertification and flooding as major threats to agriculture, food security and rural livelihoods, warning that environmental degradation fuels poverty, conflict over land and water, and migration from rural communities.
He noted that trees improve soil fertility, protect farmlands from wind erosion, provide fruits and animal fodder, and create additional sources of income for rural households.
Highlighting Katsina’s climate governance achievements, the governor cited the state’s first-place ranking in Nigeria’s 2025 Sub-national Climate Governance Performance Ranking, alongside recognition by the Forestry Association of Nigeria for its environmental stewardship.
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He also pointed to ongoing interventions under the ACRESAL programme, implemented with support from the World Bank and the Federal Government, including stormwater drainage projects in Katsina metropolis and riverbank protection works in Jibia to strengthen resilience against flooding.
To ensure effective implementation, Governor Radda announced the establishment of a Central Steering Committee, three zonal monitoring committees covering Katsina, Daura and Funtua zones, as well as local government and ward implementation committees.
He called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, farmers, women, youths and community groups to take ownership of the initiative, insisting that lasting success depends on public participation.
“Governments can start a campaign, but only people can sustain it,” he said, urging residents to plant, water, protect and replace seedlings where necessary.
The governor also directed schools, healthcare facilities, ministries, departments and agencies, as well as local government councils, to participate in the tree-planting campaign, while encouraging households to embrace cleaner cooking alternatives to reduce dependence on firewood and charcoal.
Radda appealed to development partners, civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations to support the initiative, describing environmental protection as a shared responsibility.
“We inherited this land from our parents, but we are borrowing it from our children. Let us return it greener than we found it,” he said as he formally flagged off the campaign across the state.
In his address, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall, Saleh Abubakar, who represented the Minister of Agriculture, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to restoring degraded lands through stronger collaboration with states.
He said the initiative would benefit from technical support, institutional cooperation and advanced monitoring systems to strengthen climate reporting and carbon-finance opportunities.
Also speaking, the Governor’s Special Adviser on Climate Change, Al’Ameen Muhammad, said the initiative aligns with the administration’s Building Your Future agenda and would promote ecosystem restoration, food security, employment generation and carbon-credit opportunities through widespread community participation.
The Executive Chairman of Rimi Local Government Area, Muhammad Ali, pledged the council’s full support, assuring that traditional institutions, youth and women’s groups, schools and farmers would be mobilised to ensure the successful planting and survival of trees in the area.
The event attracted members of the Katsina State Executive Council, traditional rulers, APC leaders, local government chairmen, councillors, religious leaders, community representatives and environmental stakeholders.