To Boost Food Security, NASENI Begins Construction of Agric Incubation Centre at Abuja Varsity 

Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has commenced the construction of a state-of-the-art Agricultural Incubation Centre at the Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja (formerly known as the University of Abuja), to boost food security and innovation.

This was contained in a statement issued by the agency on Friday and signed by the Director, Information, New Media and Protocol, Olusegun Ayeoyenikan.

“The project located on a 10-hectare parcel of land at the campus, is designed as a technology-driven, commercial agricultural hub integrating poultry production, aquaculture, crop cultivation, and research-based innovation that when completed, is expected to serve as a model facility for replication across the six geopolitical zones.

“The centre comprises an agribusiness training and incubation centre, three commercially sustainable production centres for broiler and layer poultry units, high tunnel greenhouse farm, catfish and tilapia fish farm, tissue culture lab, greenhouses, admin block and open-field cultivation supported by drip irrigation and modern agricultural technologies that will increase food production, and support Nigeria’s food security agenda,” the statement said.

On the strategic importance of the initiative, the Acting Coordinating Director, Engineering Infrastructure Directorate, NASENI Headquarters, Dr. Abdulrasheed Agavah, said the project aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the federal government, particularly in advancing food security.

“This agricultural incubation centre which will be commissioned this year, is designed to make food available and affordable through technology-driven farming, breeding, and research. Its location within a university environment is deliberate, as it will strengthen research and development as well as knowledge transfer,” he said.

According to him, a similar project is ongoing at Bayero University, Kano (BUK), with plans to replicate it at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi and other remaining geopolitical zones of the country.

Also speaking during the on-site inspection, the Project mlManager of Onida Agric and Aquaculture Solutions Ltd, Mr. Christian Montano, said, “the poultry component comprises a 5,000-capacity broiler unit and an 8,000-capacity layer unit, while the aquaculture section features three production tanks, each measuring 16 metres in diameter, with an estimated annual output of about 25 tonnes of fish.

The crop production segment includes 10 greenhouse tunnels of 500 square metres each, a 2.5-hectare net house, and four hectares of open-field farmland, he said.

He added that the tissue culture laboratory is designed to accelerate seedling production and improve crop quality by significantly reducing the time required to propagate planting materials.

Montano noted that, “the centre is also equipped with six solar-powered boreholes, power store workshops, irrigation control room, and gatehouse with plans underway to construct a water retention structure to ensure uninterrupted water supply during both rainy and dry seasons.”