President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) to set up integrated farm estates in all the 109 senatorial districts in the country.
Executive Secretary of NALDA, Prince Paul Ikonne, said this while briefing State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the weekend in Abuja.
He said there was the need for governors to make land available for farm estates to be established to provide jobs for unemployed youth and ensure food security within a short period of time.
He said Kogi state government has already donated 700 hectares of land to NALDA for the integrated land estate while 100 hectares of land donated by the Ogun state government has already by cleared.
He assured that President Buhari was committed to and working towards ensuring that the country achieved food security.
“What you see is that agriculture is one of Mr. President’s heartbeat projects, and he wantsvto 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 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 opportunity for them.
“As the President is pursuing achieving food security, at the same time creating job opportunity for Nigerians is on the front burner and we are doing using the NALDA platform to achieve this,” he said.
He said women, especially Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), in 40 locations including in Abia state, are to get fish villages to enable them engage in productive activities to fend for themselves and their loved ones.
