NALDA’s farm estate, fish village to engage 800 beneficiaries in Imo, Abia — Ikonne

The ongoing National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) projects in Imo and Abia States is expected to engage 800 direct beneficiaries in the states. 

The projects are integrated Farm Estate in Imo State and Fish Village in Abia State in South East Nigeria. 

The Executive Secretary of NALDA, Prince Paul Ikonne, made this known during an inspection tour at the two project sites in Imo and Abia States.

Speaking while on an inspection tour at the 35 hectares Acharaubo Emekuku Integrated Farm Estate in Owerri North, Local Government Area of Imo State, Prince Ikonne said the farm estate was abandoned for more than 30 years. 

According to him, NALDA had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Imo State government to take the abandoned integrated farm estate, reactivate it and engage the people of the community. 

He said this has the capacity to engage about five hundred (500) farmers directly where there will be a veterinary training centre to give practitioners and prospective veterinary doctors opportunity to be trained and acquire knowledge on how to take care of the animals within the farm. 

“Our intention is to make the farm fully functional, bring back the things that used to be there before like the poultry, piggery, goat pens and additional facilities like the processing unit, packaging unit, training centers and snail rearing where farmers will be taught on rearing and processing.” 

“The land is within thirty five (35) hectares but the governor has assured us that he is going to increase it to one hundred (100) hectares capacity that would be able to take in all these and then have crop production area. 

“For us, it is purely based on President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to reactivate abandoned farm estate and create new ones in order to create employment and achieve food security for the country and also attract the youth to go into farming, so the youth can see farming as a way of life and means of livelihood,” he said. 

Also on an inspection tour of NALDA’s Fish village in Ariam Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State, the NALDA boss said the fish village is on a one hundred (100) hectares land which would engage about two hundred and fifty (250) to three hundred (300) direct beneficiaries in areas of fish farming, grass cutter farming and crop production. 

“The processing machines are purely international standards and the grass cutter that will be produced here will also be processed, dried and packaged for export and for local consumption.  

“We want to promote grass cutter meat the way we are promoting rabbit products and package it very well. It has to be properly dried as bushmeat which everyone knows that it is very healthy and the market is there.”

On fish production, Prince Ikonne said the fish village would be the first of its kind in the entire south east and it would in involve the entire value chain of fish production from the hatchery point to rearing, processing and packaging.

The Ariam Fish village is targeted at empowering women in and around the community and the programme is called “Women in Fish Farming.” 

In the area of crop production, he said the farm will have a crop section like maize production so as to produce for the birds in other locations. 

“This is part of Mr. President’s directive to NALDA as measures to develop villages, communities and we can only develop these areas when there is land donations, so any community that makes land available to us can be assured that the land will turn into meaningful use for the benefit of the community to reduce youth restiveness, unemployment and to achieve food security.”

Speaking on the management of the farm estates in the two locations, the NALDA boss said the Authority would use the same private management formula used in Suduje-Daura, Katsina State, adding that one of the banks has indicated interest to manage the facility. 

He added that the Acharaubo Emekuku Integrated Farm Estate in Owerri North, Local Government Area of Imo State would be officially commissioned come first week of September 2021.

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