The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) has initiated a Restoration Project aimed at reintegrating displaced farmers into farming activities, restoring their livelihoods, and boosting Nigeria’s food security.
Speaking to participants in Abuja, Executive Secretary of NALDA, Cornelius Adebayo, said there is a need to go beyond immediate humanitarian response. The scheme will provide the displaced farmers with land, inputs, and training to resume productive farming.
“This project allows displaced farmers to farm to feed themselves and, simultaneously, boost the national grain reserve. Their crops can be purchased by the government for price stabilization and distribution of food to ensure market stability,” Adebayo stated.
Major Agricultural Interventions
- Renewed Hope Farm Settlement Project
Modeled after the Western Region’s old farm estates, the project will cluster farmers in secure and well-equipped environments to overcome challenges of farmer-herder clashes, logistics, and monitoring. In another step to enhance security, NALDA has also begun four-foot-deep protective trenches around clusters of farms to ward off intruders and ensure that government-provided inputs actually get to the intended beneficiaries.
- Aqua Hope Project (Fish Farming Initiative)
As Nigeria imports over one million tons of fish annually, NALDA is establishing aquaculture in riverine states like Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom. The project will have clusters of fish farms with processing, packaging, and cold storage facilities, which will encourage entrepreneurship and reduce the reliance on imports.
- Greenhouse Farming for Year-Round Vegetable Production
To curb seasonal price volatility and wasteful open-field vegetable farming, NALDA is launching high-tech greenhouse clusters in urban centers like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. Shagamu, Ogun State, is one of the key centers for the project, located near a cargo airport to facilitate local and export business.
“Developed countries don’t rely on open-field vegetable production only. We have to embrace greenhouse technology to increase yield per hectare and enjoy round-the-year production,” Adebayo emphasized.
- Solar-Powered Irrigation and Mechanization
In partnership with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), NALDA is promoting the use of solar-powered irrigation pumps to eliminate farmers’ dependence on expensive petrol-powered systems. Additionally, the agency is targeting large-scale farms (minimum 500 hectares) for maximum productivity and economic viability.
- Revamping Abandoned Farm Estates
Under strategic partnerships, NALDA is resuscitating and repurposing abandoned farm estates for local communities and agribusiness investors to run efficiently.
With all this, NALDA is expecting not only to restore displaced farmers to productivity, but to push Nigeria toward agricultural self-sufficiency and food security.
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Olawale Moses Oyewole is an adept writer who stays on top of current events and curate informative and engaging articles for his readers. He is a digital strategist who help brands gain online visibility.
