NALDA Targets 1m Trees Planting By 2030, Expands Climate-smart Agriculture

The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) has set a target of facilitating the planting of one million economic trees by 2030 as part of efforts to promote climate-smart agriculture, restore degraded landscapes and strengthen Nigeria’s environmental sustainability.

The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of NALDA, Cornelius Adebayo, disclosed this at the ongoing 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Turkey, where he outlined the authority’s expanding interventions in agroforestry, sustainable land development and climate action.

Adebayo said the authority had completed the planting of approximately 5,000 economic trees under the first phase of its youth agro-forestry and climate action campaign, while the second phase was targeting an additional 56,000 trees.

He said the one-million-tree ambition was designed to mobilise young people and communities towards environmental restoration while creating economic opportunities through productive tree crops.

According to him, NALDA is also implementing its community-based plantation development programme to promote long-term tree crop production, improve biodiversity and provide additional income for rural communities.

Under the initiative, the authority is developing approximately 1,500 hectares of cashew plantation at Ilero-Babaode in Oyo State and another 1,500 hectares at Joga Orile in Ogun State.

It is also establishing about 2,000 hectares of cocoa plantation at Ifon in Osun State and 1,200 hectares of oil palm plantation at Omotosho in Ondo State.

Adebayo explained that the plantations would deliver benefits beyond agricultural production, including carbon sequestration, improved soil conditions, biodiversity conservation and the restoration of degraded agricultural landscapes.

He said NALDA was working towards documenting, measuring and verifying the environmental benefits of the plantations to position eligible projects for carbon credit opportunities and emerging climate finance mechanisms.

The authority is also pursuing a Letter of No Objection from the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) to facilitate the registration and commercialisation of eligible carbon credits generated through its plantation and agroforestry projects.

Adebayo said the process would involve establishing measurement, reporting and verification frameworks in line with applicable national and international standards.

He noted that the authority was broadening its agricultural development strategy beyond food sufficiency to include wealth creation, employment generation, rural economic development and climate change mitigation.

On large-scale agricultural development, the NALDA chief disclosed that three Renewed Hope Mega Farm Estates were under active development in Ekiti, Kwara and Bauchi States, covering approximately 10,000 hectares, 5,000 hectares and 5,000 hectares respectively.

He said the estates were being developed as integrated agricultural production systems supported by access roads, irrigation facilities, water infrastructure, storage and processing facilities, farm hostels and other essential amenities.

According to him, the projects are designed to incorporate climate-smart agricultural practices while improving farmers’ capacity to adapt to changing climatic conditions.

He said, “The broader ambition is to facilitate the planting of one million trees by 2030. Our objective is to produce food, create wealth, generate employment, support rural economies and, at the same time, contribute meaningfully to climate change mitigation and environmental sustainability.

Climate action and agricultural development are not competing priorities. Properly designed agricultural interventions can deliver both.

A hectare of land can contribute to food production, generate livelihoods, support biodiversity and sequester carbon when it is developed and managed sustainably.”

Adebayo also highlighted NALDA’s Green Hope Open-Field Horticulture Programme, which currently supports more than 5,000 women across approximately 38 locations nationwide.

He said the programme provides women with access to productive land and support to cultivate high-value horticultural crops, enabling them to participate more actively in agricultural value chains.

He maintained that agricultural development and climate action were complementary objectives, arguing that sustainably managed farmland could simultaneously support food production, livelihoods, biodiversity and carbon sequestration.

He reaffirmed NALDA’s commitment to expanding climate-smart agricultural practices, scaling up economic tree planting and strengthening community participation in environmental restoration.

The authority, he added, would pursue stronger national and international partnerships to attract climate finance, technology and technical expertise for its programmes.