The National Agricultural Land Development Authority has projected that its Renewed Hope mega farms in Kwara and Ekiti will help lift at least one hundred thousand Nigerians out of poverty. The initiative, which aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, is expected to create twelve thousand direct jobs and thirty thousand indirect jobs once fully operational.
Executive Secretary Cornelius Adebayo outlined the vision during an event held at CoP30 in Belem, where NALDA also signed a new memorandum of understanding. He described the mega farms as large agricultural communities covering between five thousand and twenty-five thousand hectares. Operations have already begun on more than one thousand two hundred hectares in Ekiti and one thousand and fifty hectares in Kwara.
Adebayo explained that each participating farmer will receive five hectares of land within the estates, giving them access to fully mechanized farming systems supported by modern infrastructure. These estates include internal roads, irrigation networks, processing centres, residential quarters and energy facilities, designed to function as self-contained agricultural settlements.
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He placed strong emphasis on NALDA’s carbon-credit initiative, which he said pairs agricultural growth with climate action. Through structured tree planting and reforestation along the estates’ secured perimeter, farmers will earn a share of the carbon credits generated. This model, he noted, offers an additional income stream that can help rural farmers move from low-income to middle-income status.
According to Adebayo, the agency’s approach blends economic empowerment with environmental stewardship. He said Nigeria now has the opportunity to showcase its role in global climate solutions and strengthen partnerships that support sustainable land use, mitigation and adaptation.
He added that NALDA has broadened its mandate in recent years to align with national climate commitments. Its plantations across multiple ecological zones now incorporate afforestation, reforestation, sustainable land management and biodiversity protection, making them key nature-based assets in the country’s climate strategy.
