About 700 women farmers in Kwara State have been drafted into the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA)‘s Green Hope Project (Phase III – Open-Field Horticulture) capacity-building programme to boost food production and strengthen food security in the country.

The beneficiaries, drawn from horticulture clusters in Iponrin, Tsaragi, Asa, Oke-Onigbin, Ijara Isin, Esie, Ilale and Moro, are being trained in modern horticultural production techniques at the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin.

At the opening of the training programme, the executive secretary and Chief Executive Officer of NALDA, Mr. Olusegun Adebayo, said the project was being implemented in 38 locations nationwide to ensure that every Federal Constituency benefits from the initiative.

According to him, “The programme will empower 5,000 women across the country, with over 500 hectares of farmland already developed for commercial horticultural production.”

He said the intervention goes beyond allocating farmland, as beneficiaries would receive training, improved seeds, fertilisers, irrigation support, extension services and other inputs needed to establish profitable farming enterprises.

Adebayo described women as critical to agricultural development, saying empowering them would have a positive impact on families and communities, noting: “When you train a woman, you train an entire community.”

He added that hostel accommodation had been provided for participants to enable them to fully participate in the training.

The Executive Dean of the ARMTI, Dr. Oluwafemi Oladuni, said the institute partnered with NALDA to equip beneficiaries with practical knowledge and skills required to improve agricultural productivity and contribute to Nigeria’s food security.

He said the collaboration was designed to move beneficiaries from training to active participation in commercial farming, adding that women remain key to achieving sustainable agricultural development.

One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Oloyede Ibukunoluwa, commended NALDA for the initiative, saying the training had exposed participants to improved tomato cultivation techniques and other modern farming practices.

She expressed confidence that the knowledge acquired during the programme would help her improve her farming business and increase her harvest.