NALDA To Establish Farm Estate In Ebonyi State

ENE OKWNIHE, Abuja

National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) has taken its grassroots youth empowerment drive to Ebonyi state South Eastern Nigeria where it’s set to establish another integrated farm estate to empower about three thousand youths in the State.

The Integrated farm estate in Ebonyi state is the latest in the series of farm estates that NALDA has set out to establish in the three senatorial zones of all 36 states of the country including the FCT.

The Executive Secretary of NALDA Prince Paul Ikonne made the disclosure in Ebonyi State in an interview with newsmen, shortly after paying a courtesy visit to the Ebonyi State Governor, Engr. David Umahi in the state.

Prince Ikonne said the proposed integrated farm estate for Ebonyi state would be established on 104 hectares of land donated by the state government.

While briefing the governor on his visit, Prince Ikonne commended the Ebonyi State Government for providing enabling environment and infrastructure for the take-off of the project.

He said the Authority would work to turn around the fortunes of agricultural activities, with a view to generating wealth and creating a new lease of life for Ebonyi youths.

“We are in Ebonyi State to partner with the government, We have seen that the Governor has keyed into Mr. President’s agenda of achieving food security in the country and With what the Governor has put in place in infrastructure, it has made our job easier”

According to the Executive Secretary, the good road network in the state is encouraging as it would enable easy transportation of farm produce to markets noting that NALDA is ready to hit the ground running immediately.

“So, Ebonyi State is committed to working with NALDA to engage the teeming youths into full agricultural productivity, we want them to make a living through farming and processing. 

“With the Governor’s commitment during the meeting and having conducted us round the land donated for this project, we are fully ready to mobilise to work, to start land clearing and construction of structures that are required”

Ikonne noted that Ebonyi has been selected to produce the fingerlings and day old chicks that will feed the entire South East and South-South adding that NALDA activities would be run purely as a business to deliver results in no distant time.

While responding, the Ebonyi State Governor, Engr. David Umahi said the state is committed to ensuring the actualization of the project.

He requested that NALDA should consider the production of fingerlings and poultry in its proposed integrated farm estate, adding that 90 percent of the State’s poultry needs are imported from Abia and Cross River States.

The governor conducted the Executive Secretary of NALDA and his team round to some of the ongoing and completed projects in the State.

The integrated farm estate in Ebonyi state would be completed by October 2021.

It would be recalled that the National Agricultural Land Development Authority had commenced the establishment of integrated farm estates across the country with Imo, Ekiti and Ogun states