The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) has unveiled a 10-year strategic plan aimed at guiding land development, ensuring food security in Nigeria while optimising five million hectares of land within five years.
The plan, which covers 2025-2035, aims is also expected to enhance agricultural land use across Nigeria, making the sector more efficient, secure, and prosperous.
Speaking at the ‘Strategy Co-Creation Workshop for Stakeholders’ under the theme, ‘Alliances for Sustainable Agricultural Land Development and Food Security’ In Abuja on Thursday, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, minister of state for agriculture, emphasised the importance of land in food production.
According to Abdullahi, “The main operating piece when it comes to agricultural food security is land.” He emphasised the importance of having the right land preparation, nutrient content, practices, inputs, and seed quality to achieve high productivity.
“If you have the right land in terms of preparation, nutrient content, practices, inputs and seed quality, you can be convinced that your productivity will be high,” he said.
The minister lamented the land depletion due to poor land management practices or climate change and urged participants to create security and confidentiality with other agencies in the application of the guides.
Cornelius Adebayo, NALDA’s executive secretary, highlighted the significance of structured land development, which goes beyond mere land clearing.
Adebayo noted that properly utilising even half of the 5 million hectares land could yield more than expected if productivity is maximised.
.
he plan includes land preparation, irrigation systems, and infrastructure like farm hostels and security installations to support farmers efficiently ¹.
The initiative seeks to optimise five million hectares of land within the next five years, aligning with the presidential mandate to open 10 million hectares for agriculture.
NALDA’s strategy involves attracting private sector involvement, recognising that the government alone cannot shoulder the enormous financial responsibility. By ensuring timely distribution of inputs, fertilizers, and mechanisation support, NALDA is creating a structured system where small-scale farmers can expand their production capacity significantly.
Adebayo emphasised NALDA’s commitment to public-private partnerships and collaborative efforts in securing Nigeria’s agricultural future, re-iterating that NALDA remains open to partnerships and innovation-driven solutions that will drive sustainable food production and economic growth.
