The executive secretary of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), Prince Paul Ikonne has called for continuity and sustenance of the agency’s agricultural initiatives for food security.
Ikonne stated this while speaking on the achievement of the NALDA in the last four.
According to him, it would be of great benefit for Nigeria to attain food security if these initiatives are sustained and built upon, adding that by ensuring continuity, laudable initiatives won’t get cut short.
“If continued, definitely, we will achieve food production, so continuity is key, agriculture requires infrastructure and then from infrastructure you continue because it’s a business that you must be patient with, not something that you will put in today and you expect to harvest immediately.
So that is why continuity is key in this thing. So that is what we look forward to and with continuity, I bet you we will get there”.
Speaking on the establishment of NALDA agricultural empowerment centres in Osun, Nasarawa, Katsina and Cross River states, Ikonne said the centres were developed to train youth in agricultural activities.
He explained, “The Empowerment Centers we did in collaboration with landowners and farm owners who provided their farm land, what NALDA did was to improve on what they have for those that have something and in their farms. For those that provided empty land, what we did was to build it up like it was overdue”
“We just finished building a place that will be like a center for snail production fully completed, but not yet stock, you know, animal husbandry and goatry that the farming will provide will provide those services”
Meanwhile the ES disclosed that NALDA also established its goats farm in Kebbi and Yobe states that has empowered the beneficiaries.
He noted that NALDA’s Institute of Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship has been established in four regions in the country, namely South-east, South-west, South-South and the North-west.
