President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the National Agricultural Land Development Authority, NALDA to set up integrated farm estates on the 108 senatorial districts across the country.
To this end, the Executive Secretary of NALDA, Prince Paul Ikonne, has called on state governors to key into the President’s desire to make land available for farm estates to be established, which is expected to take away youths from the unemployment market and engage them so as to achieve food security in a very short period of time.
The Executive Secretary of NALDA disclosed this to State House correspondents after meeting with President Buhari at the weekend, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Prince Ikonne said that the Kogi State government has donated 700 hectares of land to NALDA for the integrated land estate, while the 100 hectares of land donated by the Ogun State government has already by cleared.
He said that the President was committed to and working towards ensuring that the country achieved food security.
He 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’re making.
“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 didn’t stop at the Daura project, as we speak, the Integrated Farm Estate in Borno is 75 per cent 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 opportunity for them.
“As Mr President is pursuing achieving food security, the same time also creating job opportunity for Nigerians is on the front burner and that is what we are achieving, or we are doing using the NALDA platform.”
He further said, “Again, in Kogi State, we have gotten a 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. The 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.
“Again, 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 and 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, but we are also in Abia State where we are putting up the fish village to engage women again n 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 and at the same time you buy them because most of the agricultural products are purely raw materials, like ginger, garlic, onions and all that, they export it and then they process and come back.
“So, we are putting up processing centres in all our farm centres in order to create more job opportunities for us.”
He said that Nigerians would live to remember the foundation President Buhari was laying on achieving food sufficiency.
According to him, “What the President is doing, the foundation he’s 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.
“If not for Mr. President’s proactive initiative towards farming, the COVID-19 would have knocked everybody out, having been locked in a room or in a house for one year, nobody went to the farm, but because of the proactive initiatives he took before COVID-19 came, there was enough food for Nigerians to eat.
“Going further, we are seeking more land donations so that states, governments and communities should make their lands available. The President has directed that we should put up these integrated farm estates in the remaining 108 senatorial districts and NALDA is ready to roll out, and for those states that have made the land available, they can as well testify that no time is being wasted and we have swung into action.
“So, I call on other state governors to key into Mr President’s desire to make land available for these farm estates to be established, as this will take away youths from unemployment market and engage them and we’ll be able to achieve food security in a very short period of time.”
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