By Stella Odueme
The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) has unveiled its strategic roadmap targeted at generating and earning high-integrity carbon credits from its expanding network of farm estates across the country to accelerate rural wealth creation and lift thousands of Nigerians into the middle-income economy.
Speaking at the COP30 Side Event hosted by NALDA in Belém, the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Engr. Cornelius Adebayo, who explained that the agency’s carbon-credit initiative is not only a climate solution but also a socio-economic reform that empowers farmers, said the gathering further provides a vital platform for Nigeria to share its practical contributions to global climate solutions, exchange knowledge with partners, and strengthen collaboration on nature-based approaches that support mitigation, adaptation, and sustainable land use.
“This roadmap provides a clear pathway for placing over 20,000 hectares of plantations under effective monitoring, reporting and verification, rehabilitating ageing stock, integrating pledged lands, and ensuring that communities receive tangible benefits from every hectare restored.
“The roadmap also highlights Nigeria’s readiness to participate in high-quality voluntary carbon markets as integrity standards continue to evolve globally
“We are here to demonstrate the progress Nigeria is making through landscape restoration, agricultural transformation, and plantation rehabilitation under the auspices of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority,” he stressed.
According to him, under NALDA’s Renewed Hope Mega Farm Estates, each farmer is allocated five hectares of farmland, enabling them to earn sustainable agricultural income while also benefiting from a share of carbon credit revenues generated through structured tree-planting and estate-wide reforestation.
“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.”
According to Engr. Adebayo, the farm estates, ranging from 5,000 to 25,000 hectares, are fully mechanized agricultural settlements equipped with roads, irrigation systems, processing hubs, energy systems, and perimeter fencing lined with thousands of climate-resilient trees planted specifically to generate certified carbon removals.
“NALDA is building a carbon-credit framework that uplifts communities. Every credit earned must translate into improved incomes, restored landscapes, and strengthened food systems. That is the value we bring to global climate action.
“NALDA is also developing other Special Plantation Projects dedicated to earning high-integrity carbon credits under its Biodiversity Enhancement Programme
The agency equally announced that new cooperation agreements were signed at the event to enhance verification capacity, registry alignment, and global collaboration.
“As global conversations continue on the integrity of carbon markets, finance flows, and climate justice, Nigeria is positioning itself as a country that brings solutions, not problems-collaboration, not complexity.
“We are ready to engage partners in transparent, credible, and community-centred programmes that meet international best practices. Through NALDA, we extend a hand of partnership to organizations committed to genuine, measurable, and verifiable climate action,” the NALDA boss assured.
