NALDA’s Projects Target Enhanced Food Production, Security

The National Agricultural Land Development Authority has introduced projects that aims to support small holder farmers to earn better income, produce more and impact Nigeria’s food security journey.

Some of these projects includes; the Renewed Hope Restoration Project, Renewed Hope Mega Farm Estates, the Green Hope Project, and the
Aqua Hope Project.

While Speaking to Agriculture journalists in Abuja, Nigeria’s Capital, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of NALDA Mr. Cornelius Adebayo reeled out the details of some of these projects.

Explaining the projects, Mr. Adebayo said; “the need to concentrate resources and impact farmers productivity birthed the Renewed Hope Mega Farm Estates which involves clustering farmers and meeting their needs from inputs, to trainings and security.”

“We realise that if we clusterise our farmers and put them in one place and protect them and provide the input where they are, it reduces, one, our logistic problems, Monitoring and evaluation, two. Training, three and also helps with securing them.

“We are digging trenches around the farms, four feet by four feet. So it’s impossible for unwanted parties, that’s the term I’ll call it, unwanted parties to come into the farm. And you can control who comes in, who goes out,” he explained.

Renewed Hope Project

Speaking on the Renewed Hope Restoration Project, Mr Adebayo said that “it seeks to support and reintegrate Farmers that have been displaced from their farms to go back to farming and producing food that would in the long run empower them financially and help stabilise them in the society.”

Aqua Hope Project

On the Aqua Hope Project, the Executive Secretary said it is designed to support and encourage women and youth in the aquatic states of the country like Bayelsa, to go into Aquaculture production to help meet the nation’s Aquaculture needs.

“You see, in the country, we have a deficit of fish supply. We are still importing over a million tons of fish annually, and we are producing less than 300,000 if I’m right. So you can see the shortfall.

“Why don’t we encourage our women, our youth in those rural communities to engage in aquaculture? You can do gift tilapia, you can do catfish. But personally, I encourage tilapia better because it’s easier to package and freeze and put in a box and even export,” he further said..

Green Hope Project

To address the issues of non availability of certain produce in some parts of the country, particularly some vegetables, Mr. Adebayo said the Green Hope Project would empower some states to go into Green house cultivation to produce vegetable plants needed in their area.

He also mentioned that the Authority would partner agencies that would support with solar powered irrigation pumps.

Mr. Adebayo noted that these efforts would help decentralise and reduce the movement of vegetables from one end of the country to another.

According to him, Nigerians need to work together to turn agriculture into a business that generates forex and help the country attain food security.

Mercy Chukwudiebere