Malete Youth Integrated Agricultural Farm Project

Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has commiserated with the families of Late Professor Sam Aluko and late Mathew Mbu who died on Monday at a London Hospital. The Governor also..... ----------- The Kwara State Government is to embark on monitoring and evaluation of all Ministries and extra-ministerial departments to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in the public service. The..... ----------- Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has identified inconsistency in government policies as responsible for Nigeria’s slow pace of growth and development. Speaking at the..... ----------- The United States of America has pledged its support to the Kwara State Government in the areas of agriculture and policy implementation for the realization of the Millennium Development Goals..... ----------- Following announcement of palliatives to cushion the negative effects of the removal of fuel subsidy, the Kwara State Government has received commendations from the National Association of Nigerian..... -----------

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This is the Government Farm which has been chosen as the site for one of the most important aspects of the whole Kwara Agricultural Project. The farm, being run by Colin Spain, will be used to train approximately one hundred students. After their time they will be expected to have picked up the important principles of commercial farming and, most importantly, apply them when they leave. If the students can learn and apply the knowledge being imparted then they will have an enormous effect on agriculture across the whole of Nigeria.

The Malete farm is situated about forty minutes drive out of Ilorin in a fertile area. The farm itself has some major assets in the form of a large dam and some potentially very good buildings. It is also planned that it be connected to NEPA sometime soon. With some more investment along these lines it will unleash huge potential.

Since implementation the site has fallen into disrepair. Student accommodation is being renovated.

There are a dozen buildings on the farm in need of repair and this process is progressing nicely.

There are several large items of infrastructure on the farm which will soon be getting the maintenance and repair they need.

The largest of these being the main shed. This is a of about 1000 square metres with office space and seven service pits for vehicle maintenance. This building, though structurally sound will need some serious renovation before it can be used.

The technology to be used by small scale commercial farmers is an area of great debate. The graduates of malete will not initially have the capital required to start a large commercial farm with all the necessary equipment and so efforts are being made to try and find a more affordable alternative. One idea is the kind of small scale agricultural machinery used in China such as the ‘walking tractor’.

The project is the brainchild of the Governor of Kwara State, His Excellency Governor Bukola Saraki who took the initiative in inviting a group of displaced Zimbabwean farmers to come and visit Kwara in 2004 to assess the potential for commercial agriculture development. This bold step was met with great enthusiasm by a number of parties and has since led to the development of a pilot scheme involving fifteen farmers who have now moved to Kwara State from Zimbabwe. The scheme has already attracted international investment from outside Africa.

Why is this such a promising investment?

The project has been initiated at a very interesting time and has a lot of factors in favour of its success.

1. The project has the support of both the state and federal governments. This has meant that loan guarantees are being offered and infrastructure developments such as roads and power are being upgraded.

2. The farmers from Zimbabwe are some of the best in Africa and are used to dealing with the routine problems of working in agriculture in this continent.

3. The soil is some of the best in the world. The area around Shonga is abundant in rich red soils and rich black loams. Even a brief glance at the surrounding bush indicates the amazing fertility of the area.

4. The whole project is taking place in the basin of one of Africa's major rivers, the Niger . This means that with appropriate infrastructure developments water will not be a problem.

5. The domestic market in Nigeria is huge. The country contains almost a quarter of Africa 's population and has a large income from the oil industry, the fifth largest in the world. At present Nigeria is importing over $1.5 billion worth of food a year and this is the market being targeted by the Kwara Project. This is also happening at a time when moves are being made locally to restrict imports and pressure is being applied overseas to reduce the extent to which subsidised produce is dumped on Africa .

6. The project is situated in an area midway between Lagos and Abuja and so can serve both markets. The highway between the two major cities is nearing completion and this will be a major boost to transport.

7. Exports are on the horizon. If the domestic market is ever filled then there are plenty of crops which are suitable for export.

8. Exports by air are on the horizon! The air strip at Ilorin International Airport is large enough to accommodate cargo flights to Europe and plans are underway to do exactly that. This means that high value crops may be a possible export. This already happens with flowers and vegetables from East and Southern Africa and since Nigeria is only six hours away from London or Amsterdam this is a very important possibility.

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