By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel
The federal government has commenced the revamping of its Integrated Farm Estate in Ogun State to boost economic activities through agriculture within and outside the state.
The farm project, which is executed through the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), would be the body’s biggest in fish, poultry, sheep/goat, snails and garri production due to its proximity to the commercial city of Lagos.
This is coming after President Muhammadu Buhari successfully commissioned the first NALDA’s Integrated Farm Estate in Daura, Katsina State last month with a directive that all abandoned farm estate be recovered and reactivated as well as create new ones for employment creation and food security in the country.
According to the Executive Secretary of NALDA, Mr Paul Ikonne, the Ogun farm project, after completion, is expected to provide employment for 1,500 beneficiaries and yield about N2 billion annually after its first year.
He said, “The reason we want to make Ogun farm one of the biggest in production is its proximity to Lagos and you know that there is a market for everything in Lagos and our target for the farm in Ogun is proximately N2 billion annually after the first year of the startup.
“Ogun is one of our key farm estates because of its proximity to the seaports for export purposes and the farm estate would give Nigeria and Nigerians an image in food production.”
Mr Ikonne further explained that, “What the farm estate would do to the community is first, development, reduce migration from the community to the urban areas, increase their incomes through agriculture, increase the Gross Domestic Profit (GDP) such that the living standards within the communities that are hosting NALDA integrated estates would definitely go up.
“The prospects are high because there would be a traffic of people coming into the community to buy from the farm estate based on what is being produced in the farm estates. So it’s a win-win for all the communities that are hosting NALDA Integrated Farm Estate”
The 100-hectare farm located at the Special Agro-Industrial Zone, in Makun-Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of the state is expected to be completed by January next year.
