NALDA gets presidential directive to set up integrated farm estates in 108 senatorial districts

“What the President is doing is the foundation he is laying in agriculture; is what Nigerians would live to remember him for. No other government, no other government, I repeat, has done as much as Mr. President has done in agriculture and that is why Nigeria is coming closer to achieving food sufficiency’’

In pursuit of the agenda to provide jobs for unemployed youths and ensure food security, President Muhammadu Buhari has given a marching order to the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) to establish integrated farm estates in the 108 senatorial districts in the country.

To achieve this, Buhari called on governors to make land available for the farm estates within a short period of time.

The Executive Secretary of NALDA, Prince Paul Ikonne, told State House correspondents after a meeting with Buhari that the Kogi Government had already donated 700 hectares of land to NALDA for the project while 100 hectares of land donated by the Ogun had been cleared.

Assuring that Buhari is committed to ensuring food security, Ikonne said: “What you see is that agriculture is one of Mr. President’s heartbeat projects and he wants to see that we achieve food security in the country and NALDA is purely under the supervision of Mr. President and that is why you can see the progress that we are making.

“What the President is doing is the foundation he is laying in agriculture; is what Nigerians would live to remember him for. No other government, no other government, I repeat, has done as much as Mr. President has done in agriculture and that is why Nigeria is coming closer to achieving food sufficiency.

“I believe that the commissioning of the Daura Integrated Farm Estate in Katsina State which has the capacity to take in 1500 young farmers is a stepping stone or an eye opener to Nigerians towards Mr. President’s passion in achieving food security.

“Now we did not stop at the Daura project; as we speak, the Integrated Farm Estate in Borno is 75 percent completed and we are also doing, in 40 locations, fish villages to engage women to take in those people who are coming, the Internally Displaced people (IDPs) in order to get them reintegrated and get them engaged thereby providing job opportunities for them.

“As Mr. President is pursuing achieving food security, at the same time creating job opportunities for Nigerians is on the front burner and we are doing using the NALDA platform to achieve this.’’

The NALDA boss disclosed that women in 40 locations across the country including Abia State would get fish villages that will enable them especially Internally Displaced People (IDPs) engage in things that would make them fend for themselves and their loved ones.

“Again, in Kogi State we have gotten land donation from the governor of Kogi State for 700 hectares of land, which the first phase of that project will be commissioned this year. Clearing is about to commence and we believe that the first phase of that project, which will engage over 4000 youths into the entire agricultural process thereby creating employment and reducing herders/farmers clash.

“That farm in Kogi will go a long way in addressing the issues between herders/farmers because we are going to cluster the herdsmen, provide them with pastures and the facilities they need like water and, and other facilities that will help to support their business in cattle rearing.

“In Ogun State, we have finished land clearing, 100 hectares has been completely cleared and the access road has been provided in that place and that farm will take in 2500 youths. The President gave directives that we must make agriculture attractive to young Nigerians so that they will be engaged.

“I’m glad to inform us that that directive is not being taken with levity, that’s why we’re not sleeping because when the President speaks, it’s a command and you can’t wait when you have a command from Mr. President, knowing fully well that agriculture is his heartbeat and he wants to achieve food security.

“Not only in these two states that I mentioned, we are in Abia State where we are putting up fish village to engage women again in fish production and packaging and in all our farm estates, a finished product is our target so that Nigeria will cut the chain of exporting raw materials out of this country.

“At the same time you buy them because most of agricultural produce are purely raw materials like ginger, garlic, onions and all that, they export it and then they process and come back,’’ he said.

“We are putting up processing centres in all our farm centres in order to create more job opportunities for us.”

The NALDA said that Nigerians would live to remember the foundation President Buhari was laying on achieving food sufficiency.’’