President Buhari has directed the National Land Development Authority (NALDA) to establish integrated farm estates in all senatorial districts to boost food production across the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s Abuja meeting with the agency’s executive secretary, Mr. Paul Ikonne, was the catalyst for the directive, Mr. Ikonne told State House correspondents on Sunday.
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One of these integrated farms was opened by the president recently, he said, and NALDA is on its way to completing the remaining 108 farms in accordance with presidential directives.
According to him, the goal was to ensure that the huge strides already made in agriculture under the current administration were maintained.
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Because of this, he called on the state governments to work with NALDA to achieve the goal by donating land for integrated farms in their respective jurisdictions, as well as partnering with NALDA.
This scheme, he hoped, would increase employment and food security in the country.
According to the president, we must make agriculture attractive to young Nigerians in order to get them involved.
We are happy to report that the directive was not well received. When the President speaks, it is a command. That is why we are not sleeping.
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Buhari Issues a directive
When the president issues such a directive, we can’t wait, knowing that agriculture is his passion and he wants to achieve food security.
Without his proactive approach to farming, the COVID-19 would have wiped out the entire human race. Because of the pandemic, no one went to work on the farm after spending a year in a room or house.
As a result of his proactive actions before COVID-19, Nigerians were able to eat, he said.
There are 108 senatorial districts left in Nigeria, Ikonne said, and the president has ordered NALDA to build integrated farm estates in each of them.
There is no time to waste because we have swung into action,” he said, referring to the states that have made land available.
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This is the reason I’m asking the rest of the governors to follow the president’s lead and make land available for these farm estates.”
And, he continued, “youths will no longer be on the job market, and we’ll have food security in a very brief time frame.”
Daura Integrated Farm Estate, which can employ 1,500 young farmers, was inaugurated by Buhari recently, and he believes that it opened Nigerians’ eyes to the president’s commitment towards food security.
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In order to discourage the importation of finished products, NALDA had already made plans to set up processing centers in all the farm estates, according to him.
When it comes to the president, Nigerians will remember him for his agricultural reforms.
