The National Agricultural Land Development Authority’s (NALDA) is set to establish an Integrated Farm Estate in Kogi State with the aim of improving the livestock sub-sector, reducing farmers’/herders’ clashes in the country and creating job opportunities for about three thousand youths (3000) in the host community.
The Farm Estate would be located on 700 hectares of land in Okwuha Obayin Village, in Ajaokuta Local Government Area of the state donated to NALDA by the state.
The farm would focus mainly on cattle, goat, sheep and poultry and pasture production; it would have a cropping area with an irrigation farming system in place to enable all-year-round food production particularly maize as the farm has natural water source in its path.
The facility is also expected to boast of social amenities like a school, clinic (including veterinary), access roads, residential areas, boreholes and a meat processing area and of course a meat market.
The Farm Estate would also create about 3000 direct and indirect jobs for over three thousand youth and women of the host community.
The NALDA’s Integrated Farm Estate would serve as a bridge and safe haven for pastoralists relocating from these zones of the country thereby reducing farmers’/herders’ clashes.
In an interactive meeting with the Chief of Staff to the state governor, the local government chairman, village head and about 12 landowners who are willingly donating the land, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of NALDA Prince Paul Ikonne reassured the host community that the land would be put to use for their benefit and for the benefit of their community.
“These families that are donating the lands, the federal government is developing the land for you, what we are bringing belongs to you and what it means is that all the youth and women within your village would be engaged in this place.
“It is very simple, it is called Integrated farm estate, where you will have both schools, clinic, crop section, a processing section, animal husbandry sections and then we would also have a mini market, residential area and this place would be purely known for meat processing, cow and goat rearing,” Prince Ikonne said.
He noted that the farm is designed in a way that there would be no friction between farmers and herders as the pasture area on the farm would cater for the feed needs of the animals on the farm and also be exported to other parts of the country.
“There would be no issues with herdsmen and farmers because the farm would be well secured, we would have area for pasture production and not just planting it for grass but we would be able to palate it and then take to other parts of the country because of the size of the land you are donating so your community is going to host other communities and it is a big blessing,” Ikonne said.
Ikonne while assuring the community of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to easing poverty in the country said the President intends to make millionaires out of Nigerian youths in the rural areas through agriculture and Okwuha Obayin village is blessed to be part of the programme.
He added that the land clearing would commence immediately and the first section of the Farm estate would be commissioned by December 2021.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary and his team paid a courtesy call on the Kogi state Governor, Mr Yahaya Bello before proceeding to inspect the land.
Prince Ikonne while meeting with the governor said Kogi being the gateway to most regions of the country, the Farm estate in Kogi is a very strategic one.
“You have done a lot in saving the country being a gateway to a lot of states, with this project coming to the state we are very much optimistic that a lot would be achieved, food security would be achieved, employment would be achieved, solving the problem between herdsmen and farmers achieved and Nigeria would be on auto-drive to achieving food security.”
Ikonne noted that NALDA is ready to partner with Kogi state to ensure that the project is a success.
Governor Yahaya Bello while receiving the NALDA team said his government has been able to stabilise and sustain peace and security in the state, noting that herders fleeing different parts of the country migrate to the state and leave peacefully with the locals.
“Here we have made available 700 hectares of land in just one local government to take care of the first phase of this programme here in Kogi State”
“We as a state have been able to stabilise security, peace and tranquillity that is much needed in Nigeria today and we have been able to sustain it, a situation where almost all the herders that are having issues at one point or the other in the southern part of the country would migrate to Kogi State and mingling, leaving and cohabiting with our farmers without conflicts means it takes a lot from us as a state,” Gov Bello said.
He said the project would further enhance the relationship between the locals and migrants into the state since it would create an enabling environment for everyone to cohabit peacefully.
According to the governor, Kogi State serves as a shock absorber for the country as it is always ready to receive people from every part of the country in crisis situations and Integrated Farm Estates in all three Senatorial zones would help cushion the effects of the shock.
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