The British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATN Foundation) has commenced a 22,000-tree afforestation and natural resource management project across selected communities in Kano and Jigawa states, deepening its environmental sustainability interventions in the North-West.
The initiative, implemented in partnership with the Federal College of Agricultural Produce Technology (FCAPT) and Ahalson General Enterprises Ltd, is aimed at combating desertification, restoring degraded landscapes, improving biodiversity and strengthening the resilience of rural communities to the effects of climate change.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony in Kano, Ruth Owojaiye, Board Director of BATN Foundation, said the intervention reflected the foundation’s broader commitment to improving the quality of life in rural communities through sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship and community-based development.
Owojaiye said the foundation had invested more than N4 billion in agricultural and rural development interventions over the past two decades, implementing more than 300 projects and reaching more than 17 million beneficiaries across Nigeria.
She said the current project would support the restoration and expansion of forest cover through the planting of 22,000 trees across Kano and Jigawa, including 2,000 seedlings contributed by FCAPT.
