The Federal Government is expanding efforts to generate high-integrity carbon credits through farm estates managed by the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), in a strategic push to drive rural prosperity and increase farmers’ income.
Speaking on Wednesday at the COP30 Side Event hosted by NALDA in Belém, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Cornelius Adebayo, described the initiative as both a climate response and a socio-economic reform aimed at empowering farmers.
Adebayo said that through the Renewed Hope Mega Farm Estates Programme, each beneficiary farmer receives five hectares of farmland, allowing them to earn sustainable agricultural income while also sharing in the revenue from carbon credits generated through structured reforestation and tree-planting policies across the estates.
“Our goal is simple: we want to move Nigerians from a low-income bracket to a true middle-class economy. By combining agricultural productivity with carbon-credit earnings, farmers can become independent, prosperous, and globally competitive,” he said.
He explained that the initiative aligns with Nigeria’s wider climate commitments while ensuring that rural communities directly benefit from climate-smart agriculture and emerging global carbon markets.
The NALDA model is expected to support economic growth, strengthen rural participation in climate finance, and help reposition agriculture as a key contributor to Nigeria’s development targets.
