400 Women, Youths Set To Benefit From NALDA’s Farm Project

About 400 women and youths  in Ariam Elu Elu Community, Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State are set to benefit from the National Agricultural Lands Development Authority (NALDA) integrated farm estate in the Community.
Disclosing this recently, while on an inspection tour of 100 hectares of farm donated by the Community, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, NALDA, Prince Paul Ikonne, said the 400 women and youths from the Community have been trained and ready to commence work at the farm, while NALDA will provide technical support.
According to him, the farm is capable of generating huge revenue annually when it becomes fully operational after the commissioning in few weeks.
Ikonne also stated that “NALDA is out to ensure women and young people are empowered with agribusiness skills in order to boost food security, food sufficiency, and drastically reduce youth unemployment in the country”.
The project in Abia State,he explained, is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to ensure that youths are gainfully employed and empowered with modern agribusiness skills and knowledge, and also as a way to replace aging farmers.
He continued that the facility has 50 fish ponds with a capacity of 150, 000 fingerlings and 3,000 fishes; three solar-powered industrial boreholes for constant water supply in the farm; 2 kilometers road network with drainages; solar-powered street lights; office block; and residence.
Other facilities include high yielding pest resistant 40,000 Dwarf Cavendish; as well as Valerie and Big Lady Finger species of banana trees planted on 25 hectares of the land within the farm.
He further stated that the integrated farm estate in Ariam Elu Elu Community is a deliberate move by the Federal Government “to bring back life into the rural economy and curb unnecessary rural-urban migrations”, saying that  similar projects are being executed in other parts of the country by the Federal Government through NALDA.