Olatunde said the platform would improve agricultural value chain, influence farming and real estate as well as enable farmers and subscribers the opportunity to create consistent income-earning opportunities. He said that the effort would also generate stable and reliable rental income through farmland acquisition.
“We want to support the Federal Government toward driving self-sustainability in food production. Therefore, we are working toward acquiring 10 million acres of farmland and onboarding 10,000 farmers on our platform within the next five years. We are onboarding access to grants and off takers for their farming to boost capacity and output. We believe this will add a 20 per cent boost to Nigeria`s overall food production capacity. Agriculture is as old as man and humans must eat; therefore, we must farm. It is a simple universal fact, land does not fade or die. There is little or no maintenance cost and it has almost zero risk factors,’’ he said.
Olatunde said that those who are subscribers on the platform can purchase farmlands from as low as N100,000 and earn rentals on it every three months. Mr Martins Omotoso, Head, Marketing Department of the organisation, said that Agrolyfe was a product that would give easy access to farmland farmers.
Omotoso said that the organisation`s aim is to tackle inflation and ensure that unemployment is reduced in the country. He also said that the organisation was collaborating with government officials, non-governmental outfits and other relevant stakeholders to ensure the programme achieves its objective.
“We are looking at 50 farmers currently across the nation. One of the biggest problems farmers face is access to farmland; we are bringing a system that will create amenities to address such problems on those farmlands,’’ he said.
Dr Mariam Animasaun, the Group’s Managing Director, said that the project would create job opportunities for youths and women in the country. “We want to engage the youths and women more in this value to ensure that we leverage our strength. Security will be tackled effectively in the farmlands, we will provide seedlings and there is access to grant; every support they need will be provided,’’ she said.
Mr Shimo Mela, a representative of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the ministry was ready to support the project to realise its goals. “In the area of mobilisation, the ministry will ensure that it puts all effort into mobilising farmers as well as offer other positive support to make the project a reality,’’ he said.
Mr Lanre Sadik, a representative of the Central Bank of Nigeria, also said that the CBN would ensure that the programme would be implemented effectively. “The programme is a good one, we will ensure that the programme is introduced effectively at the CBN, and we will support it in our own way,’’ he said. (NAN)
