Nigerian Tribune | 17 October 2025NALDA, firm seal investment deal to boost agribusiness
by Collins Nnabuife
In a step toward transforming Nigeria’s agricultural economy into a commercially competitive and investment-driven sector, the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with agribusiness firm Arzikim Noma for the management and financing of the Renewed Hope Mega Farm Estate in Ora, Kwara State.
The partnership, signed at the National Assembly Library in Abuja, represents a significant milestone in the implementation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, aimed at attracting private capital into agriculture while modernizing food production systems across the country.
Speaking at the event, NALDA’s Executive Secretary, Engr. Cornelius Adebayo said the partnership with Arzikim Noma would serve as a model for sustainable agribusiness investment through shared risk and return between the government and the private sector.
“We’ve provided the land, infrastructure, and enabling environment, while Arzikim Noma is financing and managing the farming clusters. This structure ensures sustainability and commercial viability beyond government tenure,” Adebayo said.
According to him, the Ora Mega Farm Estate, spanning 5,000 hectares, will operate as a fully mechanized agricultural hub featuring hostels, warehouses, a police post, mechanization centers, and recreational facilities, all designed to make large-scale farming attractive to youth and investors alike.
Over 1,050 hectares have already been cleared for cultivation, with Arzikim Noma taking charge of input financing, farmer management, and output aggregation.
Each farmer under the scheme will cultivate about five hectares, with tractor and mechanization services provided on credit, and deductions made post-harvest.
“We’ve structured this project so that farmers don’t have to pay upfront. It’s a performance-based model where deductions happen only after sales. That ensures financial discipline, productivity, and investor confidence,” Adebayo explained.
He added that the partnership would create a new class of agripreneurs capable of bridging the gap between smallholder farming and industrial-scale food production.
Arzikim Noma’s Group Managing Director, Michael Adeshola, described the collaboration as a big bet on the long-term profitability and scalability of Nigerian agriculture.
“We see this as a viable investment frontier. This partnership will not only boost yields and profitability for farmers but also open new opportunities for investors in agro-processing, input supply, and exports,” Adeshola said.
According to him, Arzikim Noma, which successfully participated in the Central Bank’s Anchor Borrowers Programme and fully repaid its loans, is leveraging its financial discipline and operational experience to de-risk agribusiness in Nigeria.
“Our partnership with NALDA gives investors confidence because it combines government-backed land infrastructure with private-sector efficiency and accountability. We are creating a sustainable model that guarantees offtake, quality control, and consistent returns”, he said.
Adeshola noted that the company’s target is to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported raw materials and expand the country’s agro-export capacity, adding that the firm had already helped multinational processors cut their importation of agricultural raw materials from 70 percent to about 30 percent in the last five years.
“With the Renewed Hope Mega Farm Estate, we are going to close that gap entirely and even begin exporting surplus produce to other African countries,” he added.
The NALDA–Arzikim Noma deal is a strategic investment framework that aligns with global trends in agro-industrial partnerships, combining state-backed infrastructure with private financing to drive food system transformation.
The model reduces government expenditure on recurrent subsidies while attracting private equity, impact investors, and development finance institutions seeking sustainable agriculture projects with measurable social returns.
The Renewed Hope Mega Farm Estate in Ora is part of a broader rollout that includes similar clusters in Ekiti and Bauchi States, with NALDA aiming to open up 10 million hectares nationwide over the next decade.
The initiative is expected to stimulate rural economies, create agro-processing value chains, and improve Nigeria’s position in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a regional supplier of agricultural commodities.
The Renewed Hope Mega Farm model demonstrates how public-private partnerships (PPPs) can unlock Nigeria’s agricultural potential.
With NALDA providing the enabling infrastructure and Arzikim Noma injecting capital and management expertise, the project is expected to deliver returns across multiple fronts, from job creation and rural development to food price stabilization and investor confidence.
