Abuja: The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) has announced its ongoing Renewed Hope Mega Farms Estates in Kwara and Ekiti, with the aim to lift 100,000 individuals out of poverty. The initiative is expected to generate 12,000 direct jobs and 30,000 indirect jobs, according to Mr. Cornelius Adebayo, the Executive Secretary of NALDA. This statement was made on the sidelines of an event organized by the agency during the CoP30 and MoU signing ceremony in Belem.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the estates are part of the flagship projects under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. These large-scale agricultural settlements cover areas ranging from 5,000 to 25,000 hectares. The pioneering estates have started operations in Ekiti and Kwara, with over 1,200 hectares and 1,050 hectares under cultivation, respectively.
Mr. Adebayo highlighted that the agency’s carbon-credit initiative serves not only as a climate solution but also as a socio-economic reform empowering farmers. Each farmer within the Mega Farm Estates is allotted five hectares of farmland, enabling them to earn sustainable agricultural income while benefiting from carbon credit revenues generated through structured tree-planting and estate-wide reforestation.
He emphasized that the goal is to elevate Nigerians from a low-income bracket to a middle-class economy by combining agricultural productivity with carbon-credit earnings. The estates are fully mechanized and equipped with infrastructure such as roads, irrigation systems, processing hubs, housing, and energy systems to function as complete agricultural settlements.
As part of the sustainability framework, each estate will receive comprehensive perimeter fencing, along which NALDA plans to plant thousands of climate-resilient trees capable of generating significant carbon credits over time. This approach ensures that beyond food production and job creation, farmers within these estates can earn additional income from carbon markets, facilitating their transition from low-income status to a middle-income economy.
Mr. Adebayo also noted that the event provided a platform for Nigeria to share its contributions to global climate solutions, exchange knowledge with partners, and strengthen collaboration on nature-based approaches supporting mitigation, adaptation, and sustainable land use. He reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to scaling nature-based climate solutions and enhancing the credibility and transparency of its carbon programs.
Over the years, NALDA’s operational mandate has been expanded to align with Nigeria’s climate commitments by integrating afforestation, reforestation, sustainable land management, and biodiversity enhancement into its plantation programs. NALDA’s plantations across different ecological zones are positioned as promising nature-based climate assets in Nigeria, with potential to generate high-integrity carbon removals, attract climate finance, and empower young people and rural farmers.
Mr. Adebayo concluded by stating that their presence at CoP30 is to spotlight these transformational efforts and outline the ambitious NALDA Plantation Carbon Roadmap.