The Federal Government has said that its integrated farm estate and fish villages in Borno State will engage over 4,000 indigenes particularly those returning home from Internally Displace Persons camps.
It said the 100-hectare farm estate would create over 1,500 jobs for the residents, while the fish farms, about 40 in number, would engage over 2,500.
It disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja by the Executive Secretary, National Agricultural Land Development Authority, Paul Ikonne, who led a team from NALDA to inspect work on the projects in Borno.
Ikonne said the integrated farm estate under construction in Jere Local Government Area of Borno state, would commence operation before the end of this year.
He said the facility would reinstate the IDPs as well as engage them in the entire agricultural value chain, providing them with the right environment to deliver agro products.
He said the vision of the Federal Government was to ensure that the authority reactivated abandoned lands, increase farming capacity as well as attract youths to agriculture.
Ikonne commended the state governor for donating land and the support to NALDA, adding that the farm would concentrate on livestock including cattle, goat, sheep, poultry and pasture as well as crop production.
On his part, the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, said he was excited about the potential of the project to create jobs for citizens who had lost their sources of livelihood to the insurgency bedevilling the area.
He said, “The people of this area have completely lost their means of livelihood and having this project in Borno State would ensure that many of our youths would be employed.”
Zulum commended the NALDA boss for travelling across states of the federation to ensure that the farm estates were established and functional.
