Ekiti State has taken a big step toward a productive and sustainable approach to agroforestry, becoming the latest jurisdiction to sign up to the Africa Sustainable Commodities Initiative (ASCI), a 10-country compact which puts producer countries in the driving seat for sustainable and deforestation-free development of both crops and forests.
Ekiti State has joined ASCI as it offers both a way of protecting the state’s environment, and also a way of enhancing livelihoods in line with Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s emphasis on maximising agricultural and rural development with grassroots impact.
Nigeria at a federal level has been a signatory to the Africa Sustainable Commodities Declaration since 2022, and while Edo State has been a member for much longer, the size and federal structure of Nigeria will mean that implementation of the ASCI Declaration has to happen on a state-by-state basis.
Ekiti State, which is located at the historic heart of Nigeria’s cocoa and timber industries, is looking for a way to both protect its environment and find growth opportunities on which the agricultural sector can be rebuilt. Rural development is one of the government’s six core policy objectives.
There is a huge opportunity in the current boom in commodity crops such as cocoa and oil palm which needs to be aligned with forest protection and reforestation objectives – this can be done because there are real win-wins for Ekiti’s farmers and livelihoods, while keeping its forests standing.
Once one of Nigeria’s foremost states for production forestry, Ekiti has suffered extensive deforestation in the past but still has important areas of forest and biodiversity, while more tree cover is needed to increase resilience against climate change and erosion. Equally, the resurgence in agriculture, especially small and medium enterprises, needs to be given what it needs to grow strongly.
For Ekiti, this means careful and coordinated planning between agricultural and forestry interests – in the past, an ad-hoc approach had thrown up numerous contradictions, misunderstandings and compromises – and had neither delivered agricultural growth nor slowed forest loss.
ASCI and its principles can be used as a tool to coordinate this planning, and the land use/ land cover survey which has just been completed in partnership between the State, UK FCDO and the international NGO ProForest helps to carefully zone activities tothe most suitable locations, and to recognise environmentally sensitive areas, as well as to identify degraded forest land which can be reforested or released for agroforestry, according to local community needs and comparative advantage.
Ekiti is fortunate to have islands of biodiversity such as sacred forests and mountaintops to integrate into these plans – adding to the richness of its protected areas. It has recognised 10 such as Community Protected Forests but there remains the crucial need to protect these sacred areas for their cultural importance and community use.
Ekiti State also has Nigeria’s only private tree growers’ association, which is helping to promote the growing of both exotic timber species and endangered indigenous trees. Joining up all of these parts in a consolidated action plan under ASCI means that Ekiti can realise its agricultural vision of secure livelihoods for its population, whilst preserving the forests and sacred groves for its population of the future, and for the benefit of the world in terms of carbon sequestration and protected biodiversity.
ASCI’s facilitator in Ekiti State is Dr. Yemi Akinyugha, Technical Advisor to the Governor on Green Economy and Ecological Matters. You can follow developments in the State on social media at (FORESTRY COMMISSION AND COMMISSIONER OF AG SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES)