NALDA commences establishment of farm estate on 1,200 hectare in Ekiti …To empower 3000 farmers

The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) has commenced the process of establishing an integrated farm estate on its 1200 hectares of land it just recovered and reactivated in Ekiti state.

The farm estate located in Okeako/Irele Ekiti in Ikole Local Government Area of the state had been in existence for over twenty years and owned by NALDA, boast of an already existing 50 hectares of Cashew farm, storage and a processing facility that would be reactivated and upgraded to empower 3000 farmers across several value chains.

Speaking during his visit to the farm, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of NALDA Prince Paul Ikonne assured the farmers that the authority is back and better and will work assiduously to ensure that the farmers get all they need to farm and produce, beginning with an access road into the farm.

“We are here to make sure that this abandoned estate comes back to life, your farm produce that you use to take out, you will still take them out to sell but this time it will be fully processed because whatever we are going to produce on this farm will also be processed, we will put processing plant too so that we can add value to what we produce, this will also help your youth be engaged because agriculture is the way to go”

He further assured the community that the plan NALDA has in stock for the farm estate would definitely open up the community to a huge development as the farm would have a processing zone, a packaging zone and farming zone.

Addressing the issue of insecurity and herders crises Prince Ikonne said the best way forward is to meet, discuss and dialogue with farmers and herders in and around the communities in order to prevent future occurrence.

“The solution is, how do we come together to do our businesses so that it would benefit all of us? That is what NALDA would do, I believe that the herders want their cow to be healthy and fattened so they can sell and make profit, what this means is that they also want a conducive environment to do their business”

“So NALDA is going to engage them and the communities, we will create an avenue where they can feed their cattle so that we all can live in peace. Based on that we are doing what we call integrated farming, they can buy from us, while we also can buy from them and the farm can benefit also through the cattle’s dunk serving as manure”

So we must find a way to live in peace so that our children and their children after them would also have peace. Trouble, bitterness, hatred and war does not pay any community so as an Authority NALDA would find a way to bring both parties to the table”

Meeting with the Ekiti state Governor Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Prince Paul Ikonne said NALDA is in Ekiti state to carryout President Muhammadu Buhari’s instructions which is for NALDA to recover and reactivate its abandoned farm estates across the country and utilize it for agriculture to benefit youths in the grassroots.

“Having made the funds available for NALDA to use, we will start immediately to reactivate the farm, we will start with road infrastructure which is about 4.5 kilometers and then clear the remaining lands in the areas that have not been cleared, we will take it in phases and I’m very much sure that we are going to farm there this wet season as NALDA will be providing the tractors for the land clearing”

Price Ikonne while appreciating the state government for providing an enabling environment for NALDA said they can only function in a state that creates a working environment adding that the farmers have shown the interest and zeal to be engaged in modern farming.

He noted that with the flag off of the Young Farmers Scheme in November of 2020 by Mr. President, the integrated farm estates across the country would further ensure that the young Farmers Scheme would be fully achieved and in so doing Food security will also be achieved.

Welcoming the NALDA team, Dr. Kayode Fayemi said agriculture in the state is not on a part time basis but a way of life and anything that needs to be done to accelerate development in the sector is a welcome development.

“Currently we have about three rice mills that are coming on in Ekiti, all of this will not really bring to bear the quality and capacity of our people if we don’t have enough farmers growing, somebody has to feed the mills, either it’s Cassava or rice we must produce in order for the mills to be active and whatever you can do to assist us just as you have promised we will certainly be full of gratitude”

“We all know how dear agriculture is to Mr. President, at every opportunity he would tell us that we must grow what we eat and eat what we grow and that is also our passion in this state” he added

He said the state will leverage on what they are best known for which is education and farming and develop it into wealth creating opportunities for the people adding that with NALDA on board more youths in the state would get empowered through agriculture.

The traditional ruler of the community, His Royal Highness, Oba Emmanuel Omopariola, the Alajowa of Ijowa, Ijowa Ekiti while welcoming NALDA back to the community lamented the problem of insecurity as one of the major challenges facing the farmers in the community.

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