Jeji Restoration Outlook Report 2025

Jeji Restoration is a community‑driven restoration initiative by Surge Africa tackling land degradation and displacement in Northern Nigeria by planting trees, rebuilding livelihoods, and centering women as agents of change. Launched in 2021, the program has moved from its challenging first attempts to a scalable model that combines ecological recovery with tangible economic benefits for conflict‑affected and climate‑stressed communities.

At its core, it aims to restore 5,000 hectares of degraded land and plant 3.5 million trees over seven years. Early progress proves the concept: since inception the project has planted over 30,000 trees and expanded restoration sites to 36 hectares, raised 28,000 seedlings in a single planting year, and secured a landmark MoU with the Jigawa State government to protect 500 hectares as a forest reserve. These wins are built from lessons learned, failed experiments, and funding shortfalls that shaped a more resilient, adaptive approach.

Women and communities are central to the model, Jeji Restoration prioritizes women as at least 60% of beneficiaries, offering paid roles in planting and land management, access to public plots for agroforestry, and training in sustainable practices. This focus has increased household incomes, reduced gendered vulnerabilities, and built local ownership of restored landscapes. Jeji Restoration’s methods combine traditional knowledge with tested restoration techniques. Agroforestry plots pair trees with food crops to boost soil health, diversify yields, and provide short‑term food and income while young forests mature. 

Other impact initiatives include a seed bank of about 350 native species to help protect seed biodiversity, and strengthen local farming. The “Surge Pocket Forest”  uses a method of planting small, dense forests that grow quickly and boost biodiversity even in tiny spaces and it’s a model that can be replicated in other places.

Jeji Restoration’s outlook is bold but pragmatic. The plan to scale to 5,000 hectares reframes restoration as a livelihood strategy not just an ecological intervention. Success will depend on financing, deeper government partnerships, expanded technical support, and broader stakeholder engagement to translate into meaningful impact. 

As Jeji Restoration launches its 2025 Outlook Report, the message is clear: restoration rooted in community agency, women’s leadership, and resilient practice can heal degraded lands while rebuilding lives. Jeji Restoration invites partners, funders, and policymakers to join a tested model that turns restoration into lasting economic and ecological transformation for Nigeria’s most vulnerable landscapes and people.