The Federal Government has unveiled plans to support 40 tertiary institutions with between ₦1 billion and ₦2 billion each to boost commercial agriculture, under its Renewed Hope Tertiary Agricultural and Entrepreneurship Programme.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this during a meeting with heads of the 40 selected tertiary institutions and the management of the Bank of Agriculture to discuss the implementation of the programme.
He said the initiative would harness more than 500,000 hectares of underutilised land across tertiary institutions for commercial agricultural production, research and enterprise development.
According to the Minister, participating universities, polytechnics and colleges of education are expected to provide about 1,000 hectares of land each, although institutions with smaller landholdings may also qualify based on the viability of their proposals.
Alausa explained that each participating institution would establish a limited liability company to partner with the Bank of Agriculture, which would provide between ₦1 billion and ₦2 billion in financing to support farming activities and related inputs.
He said the initiative was designed to address the underutilisation of agricultural land in tertiary institutions by providing access to finance, modern machinery, technical expertise and other necessary support to make farming commercially viable.
The Minister also disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education had provided ₦20 billion in its capital budget to support 20 tertiary institutions under the agricultural development initiative, while the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) had earlier approved funding for selected institutions, with allocations ranging from ₦1 billion to ₦2 billion.
On mechanisation, Alausa said participating institutions would have access to 10 tractors each at significantly reduced costs, alongside modern seedlings, farm implements, irrigation equipment, water pumps, fertilisers and technical support.
He added that arrangements would be made with produce aggregators to guarantee markets for harvested crops and minimise post harvest losses.
Beyond food production, the Minister said the programme would establish a sustainable agricultural value chain, with processing and other agro allied businesses expected to feature in subsequent phases.
He noted that the initiative would also create employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for students, unemployed graduates, alumni, academic and non-academic staff, as well as members of host communities.
According to him, participants would gain practical farming experience under the supervision of lecturers and agricultural experts while benefiting from the economic returns generated by the farms.
Alausa projected that the programme could attract investments running into trillions of naira in the coming years, while repositioning tertiary institutions as centres of agricultural innovation, commercial production and enterprise development.
The Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Adamu Ahmed, welcomed the initiative, saying it would help translate the institution’s extensive agricultural research capacity into commercial production.
He cited the university’s Institute of Agricultural Research, National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services and Faculty of Agriculture as existing structures that could benefit from the partnership.
Similarly, the Rector of Federal Polytechnic Oko, Dr Chioma Irene Awuzie, described the programme as an opportunity to maximise the institution’s available land through mechanised farming and improve agricultural production.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Agriculture, Ayo Sotinrin, said the bank would provide financing and market linkages to support participating institutions, commercialise agricultural research and improve food supply.
He added that the programme would create opportunities for students and unemployed graduates while enabling tertiary institutions to generate revenue from agricultural investments.
Alausa assured that the Ministry would work with the Bank of Agriculture, relevant government agencies and participating institutions to ensure effective implementation, describing the initiative as a major step towards strengthening food security, empowering young Nigerians and transforming the country’s agricultural sector.
