The National Agricultural Land Development Authority has flagged off the third phase of its Green Hope Project in Ogun State, with 100 women benefiting from land allocation, capacity building, and agricultural support aimed at boosting commercial horticulture production.
The agency also inaugurated its Youth Agroforestry and Climate Action Campaign, unveiling plans to plant one million trees across its horticulture projects nationwide by 2030 to strengthen climate resilience and environmental sustainability.
Speaking during the flag-off of the programme at Emurin in the Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of NALDA, Engr. Cornelius Adebayo said the initiative aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on food security, job creation, and sustainable agriculture.
According to him, the Open Field Horticulture Programme is designed to economically-empower women through commercial farming while increasing food production across the country. Adebayo disclosed that no fewer than 5,000 women would benefit from the first phase of the project nationwide, while over 500 hectares of farmland had been developed across 38 locations in clusters ranging from five to 20 hectares.
He added that implementation would be carried out in phases, with Odogbolu hosting the first batch of beneficiaries. He said, “Today, we are allocating 1,000 square metres of land to each of the 100 women beneficiaries in this community. The purpose is to ensure that our women are able to support their families financially, contribute to their children’s education, and improve household incomes”.
The NALDA boss explained that the authority had gone beyond providing farmland by clearing and preparing the land, conducting soil analysis, and installing irrigation facilities before beneficiaries commenced farming.
He said each beneficiary would also receive improved seeds, fertilisers, crop protection products, farm tools, extension services, and other support facilities, including security posts, sanitary facilities, and cold storage infrastructure.
“Our objective is simple: to remove the barriers that often prevent smallholder farmers from achieving optimum productivity and profitability. When women have access to productive land, quality inputs, knowledge, and institutional support, they become powerful drivers of household welfare, food security, and national economic growth”, Adebayo stated.
On environmental sustainability, the NALDA chief announced the commencement of the Youth Agroforestry and Climate Action Campaign, under which young volunteers would serve as Green Ambassadors to promote environmental education and community tree-planting activities. He said about 60,000 trees would initially be planted across the 38 Green Hope project locations, as living perimeter fences for horticulture clusters.
“By the year 2030, NALDA is committed to planting over one million trees across our horticulture projects nationwide. This is our contribution towards building climate resilience, restoring degraded landscapes, and supporting Nigeria’s commitment to environmental sustainability and low-carbon agricultural development”, he said.
Adebayo commended the Ogun State Government, research institutions, development partners, traditional rulers, and other stakeholders for supporting the implementation of the programme.
In his remarks, the Chairman of Odogbolu Local Government, Dr. Tunde Diya, described the council as richly-endowed with fertile agricultural land, saying the administration is determined to harness the area’s farming potential, saying the council had already secured about 120 hectares of farmland for women and youths to drive food production and agribusiness development.
“We have been able to secure about 120 hectares of farmland for our women and our youth so that we can feed ourselves and ensure that the agribusiness economy is fully tapped into”, Diya said.
The council chairman thanked President Bola Tinubu, Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and NALDA for selecting Odogbolu as one of the beneficiaries of the national programme.
Also speaking at the event, the Special Assistant (Technical) to the NALDA boss, Olusegun Owolabi, said that the focus with the open irrigation farming system is to support the women to grow vegetables such as tomatoes and all kinds of peppers, saying that the project would not only serve as a veritable source of income for the beneficiaries, but also help to scale up food production.
Owolabi added that the Federal Government would also equip the women farmers with facilities that would help to boost farming activities and also reduce post-harvest losses.
