By Jumoke Olaitan

‎The Federal Government says 40 tertiary institutions will benefit from the Renewed Hope Tertiary Agricultural and Entrepreneurship Programme to boost food production, research and youth employment.

‎The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr Ikharo Attah.

‎‎Alausa said the programme was designed to transform underutilised farmlands in tertiary institutions into productive agricultural hubs, with over 500,000 hectares targeted for commercial farming.

‎”The participating institutions are expected to provide approximately 1,000 hectares of land each, while the Bank of Agriculture will provide between N1 billion and N2 billion in financing per institution,” he said.

He said the support package would include tractors, modern seedlings, farm implements, irrigation equipment, fertilisers and technical expertise.

‎‎”The programme will create opportunities for students, unemployed graduates, university alumni, staff and members of host communities to participate in commercial farming,” Alausa said.

‎He added that arrangements would be made with produce aggregators to purchase harvested crops and reduce post-harvest losses.

‎The minister said the initiative would build on previous interventions by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), adding that the ministry had also made provision of N20 billion in its capital budget to support 20 tertiary institutions.

‎He reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to working with relevant agencies and institutions to ensure the successful implementation of the programme.

The Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, described the initiative as a timely opportunity to translate the institution’s agricultural research and expertise into commercial production.

‎Similarly, the Rector of Federal Polytechnic Oko, Dr Chioma Awuzie, said the programme would help the institution maximise its available land and strengthen agricultural production.

‎In his part, Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, Mr Ayo Sotinrin, said the bank would provide financing and market linkages to support participating institutions.

‎‎”The initiative will enable universities to contribute to food supply beyond their immediate communities while generating revenue from their agricultural investments,” Sotinrin said. (NAN)

Edited by Philip Yatai