The Federal Government declared on Friday that September of this year will mark the start of the first National Agricultural Land Development Authority Institute of Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship.
It stated that the institute would be founded in each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones and that operations at the first institute would start in Aba, Abia State, within the following two months.
Speaking with reporters in Abuja, NALDA Executive Secretary Paul Ikonne clarified that the institute’s founding goal was to encourage the nation’s agribusiness’s expansion and advancement by redefining agriculture as a contemporary and alluring career option for young people.
He explained that this is accomplished by combining hands-on training, specialized education, state-of-the-art technology, and entrepreneurial education in the fields of agronomic and agribusiness.
“This will enable the country to attain food security and ensure a stable and sufficient food supply for the nation in line with President Bola Tinubu’s food security agenda,” Ikonne stated.
He claimed that the campus of the already-established institution in Abia State is fully furnished with all the amenities required to construct a strong agribusiness school.
He claims that among other things, the institute in Aba has two administrative buildings, a 600-capacity student sports complex, libraries and labs, and a clinic.
Ikonne added, “We 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 per cent to completion and they will commence academic session by next year. The institute in Katsina is 89 per cent 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, we will lose farmers as the current generation of farmers is ageing and retiring.
‘This is why we came up with the NALDA Institute of Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship from primary to secondary to OND level.”
