The President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the National Agricultural Land Development Authority to set up integrated farm estates in all 108 senatorial districts nationwide.

Consequently, the Executive Secretary of NALDA, Paul Ikonne, has called on state governors to key into the president’s desire to avail lands for the establishment of farm estates.

The scheme is aimed at engaging youths to achieve food security in the shortest possible time.

Ikonne disclosed this to State House correspondents on Sunday after meeting with the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said that the Kogi State government had donated 700 hectares of land to NALDA for the integrated land estate, while the 100 hectares of land donated by the Ogun State government had already been cleared.

He said that the president was committed to ensuring that the country achieved food security.

Ikonne said, “What you see is that agriculture is one of Mr President’s heartbeat projects and he wants to see that we achieve food security in the country and NALDA is purely under the supervision of Mr. President and that is why you can see the progress that we’re making.

“I believe that the commissioning of the Daura Integrated Farm Estate in Katsina State which has the capacity to take in 1500 young farmers is a stepping stone or an eye opener to Nigerians towards Mr President’s passion in achieving food security.

“Now, we didn’t stop at the Daura project. As we speak, the Integrated Farm Estate in Borno is 75 per cent completed and we are also doing, in 40 locations, fish villages to engage women to take in those people who are coming, the Internally Displaced Persons, in order to get them reintegrated and get them engaged, thereby providing job opportunities for them.”

He said that Nigerians would live to remember the foundation President Buhari was laying on achieving food sufficiency.