By Bukola Adewumi
President Muhammadu Buhari will, on Dec. 8, showcase to Nigerians the achievements of the National Agricultural Land Development Agency (NALDA), towards food security and job creation in the country.
This is coming two years after the resuscitation of the agency by the present government.
Mr Paul Ikonne, Executive Secretary, NALDA, gave this indication at a news conference to herald the event in Abuja.
He said significant progress had been made in impacting young farmers and women through several agricultural projects.
He said the President had laid a strong foundation for the agency to function effectively with over 50,000 farmers, excluding women, who had so far benefited from crops and livestock production.
He said the agency is currently planting 500 hectares of dry season wheat in Adamawa, Yobe, Jigawa, Gombe and Taraba states to accelerate food production ahead of 2023.
Ikonne, who ruled out food shortage in 2023, further said the agency had acquired machineries and implements that had accelerated farming across the six geo-political zones.
“NALDA was moribund but President Buhari brought it back for the purpose of encouraging young Nigerians to embrace agriculture, tackle the issue of land preparation, land clearing and development.
“So currently, we are doing 500 hectares of wheat production in this dry season and since then till date, NALDA has been making positive impact in the lives of Nigerians.
“The President will showcase some of the equipment that NALDA has procured and also the achievements, since we cannot go to the farms where we have established the farms and bring them to the venue.
“But rather they will be seen in documents, which are not fictitious. Those farms are located in villages where people live and the location will be mentioned, meaning those farms exist,” Ikonne said.
He said some of the achievements would be seen on papers while the name of the location would be mentioned so that the public could get to know what Buhari had achieved in agriculture.
This, according to him, is through NALDA, adding that farming business is not a day’s work but a process and in the process NALDA is progressing.
He said, “when we came on board, this administration did not inherit anything in terms of equipment or infrastructure from the old NALDA.
“But as we speak, NALDA has offices almost in all the 36 states, including the FCT, and has acquired tractors and farm implements, and had empowered over 50,000 young Nigerians outside women.
“The foundation that the president is using NALDA to prepare will begin to yield fruits and make more impact long after the President would have been gone.
“But the most important thing is that a strong foundation have been laid in bringing back the agency and all that is required to function effectively,” he said. (NAN)
