The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) is set to revolutionise agribusiness education with the launch of its Institute of Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship across the six geopolitical zones.
The schools are set up to transform agribusiness into a promising career path for youth by integrating practical training, specialised curriculum, cutting-edge technology, and entrepreneurial education.
Speaking with journalists on NALDA’s achievements under his leadership in Abuja, the Executive Secretary, Prince Paul Ikonne, stated that the institutes will play a pivotal role in ensuring stable food supply by engaging young learners from primary to tertiary levels early in agribusiness and agronomic practices in line with President Bola Tinubu’s food security agenda.
According to Ikonne, the first institute, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, will commence operations in Aba, Abia State in September 2024.
He said that the institute in Aba boasts of a completed 600-capacity sport complex, 2 administrative blocks, libraries and laboratories; a clinic, 9 solar powered boreholes, 30 rooms hostel and 4 classroom blocks with a total of 24 classrooms.
The Aba campus also holds a 50,000 capacity fish pond, poultry pens, 5,000 capacity snail house, fish hatchery, 50 cage grasscutter pens, crop fields, 3 tractors and hand-held harvesters.
He said, “We also came up with NALDA Institute of Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship that has the approval of Mr. President. And today, that school is taking off in September. We have students that are going to start in September; the one in Abia is fully ready and commencing the 2024/2025 academic session this September.
“The one in Ogun is 99% to completion and they will commence academic session by next year. The institute in Katsina is 89% complete. So, these are projects that we initiated with the idea and knowledge that, if we don’t catch them young into agriculture, agricultural production and agribusiness, Nigeria we will lose farmers as the current generation of farmers are aging and retiring”.
He noted that the establishment of the NALDA Institute marked a significant step towards securing Nigeria’s food future.
Ikonne also highlighted the agency’s transformation from its humble beginning with initiatives such as input distribution and the creation of farmer databases.
Additionally, he said NALDA was currently offering government-approved certificate courses in fishery, poultry, snailery, and hatchery operations, aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and sustainable agricultural practices nationwide.
Ikonne said NALDA’s efforts in the area of mechanisation include the use of drone technology for aerial mapping and spraying which further underscores its commitment to modernising Nigerian agriculture.
He stated that the agency had integrated farm estates, in Katsina, Imo, and Borno States which are creating job opportunities along the agricultural value chain and supporting the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
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