| Nigeria's Minister of Environment, Hajia Hadiza Mailafia |
Decline in agricultural production induced by climate change can reduce the nation’s Gross Domestic Product by as much as 4.5 per cent by 2050 if urgent actions are not taken now, the World Bank has warned.
The bank said this in a report, ‘Toward climate-resilient development in Nigeria,’ presented at a ceremony in Abuja on Monday, which had in attendance the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Hadiza Mailafia.
At the ceremony, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mr. Marie-Francoise Marie-Nelly, disclosed that the bank was currently spending $500m on erosion control in several parts of the country.
The report also indicated that given the negative impact of climate change on the environment, half of the nation’s agro-ecological zones that currently produced their own food would not be able to feed themselves by 2020.
It stated, “Climate-induced declines in crop yields are expected to have significant effects long-term effects on the GDP of Nigeria, reducing it by as much as 4.5 per cent by 2050.
“These modelling results assume – in accordance with Vision 2020 – that the share of agriculture in GDP will decline from 40 to just 15 per cent. If the economy diversifies away from agriculture at a slower pace, the negative effects are likely to be much larger.
“It is projected that by 2020, half of Nigeria’s agro-ecological zones will not be able to meet demand for food with local supply; by 2050, 75 per cent will be in the same position.”
The Punch