The South East Development Commission (SEDC) has launched an ambitious agricultural development project in Enugu State, combining dairy, poultry, fisheries, greenhouse farming, fodder production, processing and mechanisation on a 200-hectare site.
The integrated model farm, located at Nomeh Unataeze in Nkanu East Local Government Area, is expected to create more than 1,000 direct jobs at maturity, while drawing hundreds of smallholder farmers into its wider production and market network.
The project, launched under the Commission’s South East Agro-Development Programme, is being implemented in partnership with the Enugu State Government as part of efforts to boost food production, create employment, develop agricultural skills and strengthen agro-value chains across the region.
Unlike a conventional farm built around a single agricultural enterprise, the Nomeh facility is designed as an interconnected agricultural hub where livestock, crop production, fisheries, processing, energy and mechanisation operate within one system.
The farm is planned to accommodate a 200-head dairy herd and up to 20,000 poultry birds per cycle, alongside fisheries infrastructure, extensive fodder cultivation and silage production.
SEDC said the integrated structure is intended to reduce production gaps by allowing different components of the farm to support one another.
Fodder produced on the farm will support livestock production, while surplus fodder can be converted into silage for use on the farm and supplied to participating farmers. Manure and poultry litter can also be used to support energy generation and soil fertility.
The Commission’s Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Mark Okoye, said the project was designed to change the way agriculture is approached in the South East by connecting production with technology, processing, training and markets.
“The South East Agro-Development Programme is about building productive capacity of the region. We want to demonstrate what agriculture can look like when land, technology, mechanisation, production, processing, training and markets are brought together in one system.”
Okoye said the project’s impact would extend beyond the boundaries of the 200-hectare facility.
He pointed to young people acquiring practical agricultural skills, farmers supplying maize and soya to feed mills, dairy farmers accessing technical support and markets, and smallholder farmers increasing production through the ecosystem created around the project.
A key component of the initiative is an out-grower programme expected to initially involve about 300 households within a 10-kilometre radius of the farm.
Participating farmers will have access to inputs, technical assistance and mechanisation services, while the project will provide opportunities for aggregation and market access.
The model will also support fodder growers with planting materials, agronomy, mechanisation and harvesting services, while dairy farmers are expected to benefit from improved breeding services, feed, silage and milk collection.
Similar support is planned for poultry and fish farmers.
The project also incorporates a training centre designed to accommodate 100 to 120 trainees at a time, with practical instruction in dairy husbandry, fodder and silage production, poultry, fisheries and farm mechanisation.
FG backs integrated agriculture model
Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, said the project represented the type of productive and inclusive regional development the Federal Government seeks to promote.
Represented at the event, he said food security could not be achieved simply by putting more land under cultivation, but required an agricultural system connecting production, processing, markets, productivity and investment.
“We must produce. We must process. We must create markets. We must reduce post-harvest losses. We must improve productivity and incomes. And we must create opportunities for young Nigerians to participate meaningfully in modern agriculture.”
The project comes as food security, agricultural productivity and economic diversification remain major development
Chairman of SEDC, Dr. Emeka Wogu, CON, said the initiative was part of the Commission’s mandate to translate regional development into practical interventions capable of delivering measurable economic impact.
Wogu stressed the importance of collaboration among SEDC, state governments, communities, the private sector and development partners.
According to him, the Commission would continue to build platforms capable of connecting stakeholders to opportunities that generate sustainable economic value across the South East.
The Nomeh project is intended to serve as a pilot for wider agricultural and agro-mechanisation interventions across the five South East states.
Okoye said SEDC would study the performance of the project, document lessons and replicate successful elements elsewhere in the region.
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