The Federal Government has unveiled plans to inject more than N80 billion into 40 tertiary institutions under the Renewed Hope Tertiary Agricultural and Entrepreneurship Programme to boost food production, promote agricultural research and create employment opportunities for Nigerian youths.
Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, disclosed this during a meeting with heads of the 40 selected tertiary institutions and the management of the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) to discuss the implementation and operationalisation of the initiative.
The programme seeks to harness over 500,000 hectares of underutilised land across participating universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for commercial agricultural production, research and enterprise development.
Alausa explained that the initiative was designed to address the longstanding challenge of underutilised agricultural land in tertiary institutions by providing the financing, machinery, technical expertise and institutional support needed to make farming commercially viable and sustainable.
Under the arrangement, each participating institution is expected to provide approximately 1,000 hectares of land, although institutions with smaller landholdings may also qualify based on the viability of their business proposals.
The minister said each institution would establish a limited liability company to partner with the Bank of Agriculture, which would provide between N1 billion and N2 billion in financing to support agricultural production and related activities.
He disclosed that the programme builds on previous Federal Government interventions through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), which had approved agricultural funding support for selected institutions, with some receiving N1 billion and others N2 billion.
Alausa added that the Federal Ministry of Education had also made provision for N20 billion in its capital budget to support 20 tertiary institutions under the agricultural development initiative.
On mechanisation, he said participating institutions would have access to 10 tractors each at significantly reduced costs through the government’s agricultural mechanisation initiative.
Other support would include improved seedlings, farm implements, irrigation equipment, water pumps, fertilisers and technical expertise to enhance productivity and ensure efficient farm operations.
To guarantee markets for agricultural produce, the minister said arrangements would be made with produce aggregator to purchase harvested crops, while measures would also be introduced to minimise post-harvest losses.
He said the initiative was not limited to increasing food production but was also designed to establish a sustainable agricultural value chain, with processing and other agro-allied activities expected to feature in subsequent phases.
According to him, the programme will provide opportunities for students, unemployed graduates, university alumni, academic and non-academic staff, as well as members of host communities to participate in commercial farming.
Their participation, he said, would be supervised by lecturers and agricultural experts to provide practical experience, promote entrepreneurship and enable participants to benefit from the economic returns generated by the farms.
The minister described agriculture and agro-allied businesses as major opportunities for addressing youth unemployment, adding that the programme could attract investments running into trillions of naira in the coming years.
He said the initiative would also reposition tertiary institutions as centres of agricultural innovation, commercial production and enterprise development, rather than institutions relying solely on government funding for their operations.
Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Professor Adamu Ahmed, welcomed the initiative, describing it as a timely opportunity to harness the institution’s extensive agricultural research and production capacity.
Ahmed identified the university’s established agricultural ecosystem, which includes the Institute of Agricultural Research, the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services and the Faculty of Agriculture, as a strong foundation for the programme.
He said the partnership would provide the necessary financing and technical support to translate research outcomes into commercial production, strengthen agricultural capacity and create opportunities for students.
Similarly, the Rector of Federal Polytechnic Oko, Dr Chioma Irene Awuzie, commended President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Education for the initiative.
She said the programme would enable the institution to maximise the use of its available land through mechanised farming, strengthen agricultural production and ensure that its land resources were put to productive use.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Agriculture, Ayo Sotinrin, described the programme as an opportunity to channel sustainable financing into the agricultural potential of tertiary institutions.
He said the bank would provide financing and market linkages to participating institutions while supporting the commercialisation of agricultural research, improved productivity and the creation of opportunities for students and unemployed graduates.
Sotinrin added that the initiative would enable tertiary institutions to contribute to food supply beyond their immediate communities while generating revenue from their agricultural investments.
Reaffirming the ministry’s commitment to the programme, Alausa assured that the Federal Ministry of Education would work closely with the Bank of Agriculture, relevant government agencies and participating institutions to ensure effective implementation.
He said the ultimate objective was to translate President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda into measurable outcomes through increased agricultural productivity, stronger institutional capacity, youth empowerment and sustainable economic opportunities.