The National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GROASIS B.V and Boplas Industries Limited Nigeria to produce the Groasis Waterboxx in Nigeria.
The signing of the MoU, which took place in the Netherlands at the weekend will enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of Great Green Wall planting activities in the 11 frontline field operational areas of the agency.
The Waterboxx is an ecological water-saving technology that has been proven effective in enhancing tree survival, increasing growth speed and reducing the amount of water used to plant millions of trees in 55 countries worldwide. The adoption of this technology by the NAGGW reflects the agency’s commitment to reforming the planting process through new innovations, technologies and strategies that ensure sustainability and competitiveness.
Under the tripartite agreement between NAGGW, Groasis B.V, and Boplas Industries Limited, Nigeria will become the officially licensed producer of the Waterboxx. This move will accelerate Nigeria’s tree-planting campaign in the GGW belt, create thousands of new jobs and boost economic activities, ultimately repositioning the agency to achieve its mandate of transforming the Great Green Wall belt into an economic hub.
The Groasis Waterboxx technology is an advanced irrigation method that will enhance the survival rate of seedlings and trees in Sahel and Sahara dryland areas by 90 per cent. The technology will also accelerate and provide more sustainable agriculture in the NAGGW tree-planting campaigns by reducing carbon footprints released into the environment. In addition, the production of the Waterboxx will create job opportunities in one out of the 11 frontline states of the agency, transfer innovative solutions to other African countries and have the potential to expand the initiative to other pan-African countries of the Great Green Wall (PAGGW).
Nigeria, as the first member-country of the pan-African agency for the Great Green Wall to adopt the innovation as policy, is leading the pan-African Agency for the Great Green Wall and its agenda in Africa. The adoption of the waterboxx innovation by the NAGGW management, led by director-general, Dr. Yusuf Bukar clearly indicates the agency’s seriousness in reforming the planting process through new innovations, technologies and strategies. This step will ensure sustainability and competitiveness and, ultimately, transform the Great Green Wall belt into an economic hub.
