Food Security: NALDA to Convert Degraded Forests into Agricultural Estates, Empower 4,000 Women

James Emejo in Abuja

National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) has unveiled an ambitious plan to reclaim degraded forest reserves across the country for commercial agriculture, in a move aimed at expanding food production, denying criminal elements safe havens, and creating new economic opportunities for rural communities.

Executive Secretary of NALDA, Mr. Cornelius Adebayo, disclosed the initiative during a media briefing in Abuja.

Adebayo explained that the authority would partner state governments to rehabilitate abandoned and degraded forest lands into large-scale farm estates under the Renewed Hope Mega Farm Estate Programme.

He said the initiative derived from NALDA’s statutory mandate to develop abandoned and under-utilised agricultural land into productive assets capable of supporting national food security and rural development.

According to him, restoring degraded forest reserves will simultaneously increase cultivable land and reclaim territories that have increasingly become sanctuaries for criminal activities.

Adebayo revealed that Kwara State Government had already partnered the authority to rehabilitate degraded forest reserves, which will subsequently be allocated to members of Cashew Processors Association of Nigeria (CAPAN) for commercial cashew cultivation.

He explained that each mega farm cluster would cover at least 5,000 hectares and provide farmers with access to irrigation facilities, mechanisation services, security infrastructure, road networks, and financial services.

He said concentrating farmers within organised clusters would significantly reduce production costs while making government interventions more efficient.

Adebayo said, “We are not acquiring land for private business interests. Our responsibility is to develop the land in collaboration with host communities for their collective prosperity over an agreed period.”

He disclosed that while states, including Kwara, Niger, Katsina, Plateau, Bauchi and Ekiti, had already committed land for the programme, several others were yet to respond, despite requests submitted more than two years ago.

He added that discussions were ongoing with Enugu and Bayelsa states to ensure broader national coverage.

The NALDA boss also unveiled the Green Hope Project, a nationwide horticulture initiative designed to decentralise vegetable production through a combination of open-field cultivation and greenhouse farming.

He said facilities had already been established in Giri, Abuja, and Shagamu, Ogun State, while 30 greenhouses had been completed in Lagos, with another 50 under construction. Abuja currently has 20 greenhouses with plans to add 60 more.

In addition, the authority had established 38 open-field horticulture sites nationwide, each spanning at least 500 hectares.

According to Adebayo, the first phase of the project will directly empower about 4,000 women through access to irrigated farmland, technical training, improved seedlings, and guaranteed market linkages.

He said the programme was being implemented in collaboration with Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) and National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), which will provide capacity building, production inputs, and technical support.

Adebayo said each beneficiary will receive approximately 1,000 square metres of irrigated farmland equipped with solar-powered irrigation facilities alongside storage, welfare, and processing infrastructure.

He stated that NALDA was equally expanding aquaculture through the establishment of fish villages in the Niger Delta, with a pilot project already underway in Akwa Ibom State to boost domestic fish production and export.

He also pointed out that the interventions were designed to unlock the country’s agricultural potential through strategic investments in land development, mechanisation, and rural infrastructure in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.