The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry has proposed a national policy on productive land use to boost food production, employment and economic growth.

Olasetemi Thompson, ACCI’s vice-president, made the proposal in an open letter to President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday.

He proposed ‘Operation No Idle Land’, a national framework to encourage the productive utilisation of land for agriculture, agribusiness and other approved economic activities.

Mr Thompson said Nigeria has vast arable land, favourable climatic conditions, and a youthful population capable of driving a modern agricultural economy. He said, however, that productive land utilisation required adequate financing, infrastructure, technology, security, market access and supportive government policies.

He said the proposed initiative should focus on incentives, investment, infrastructure, technical assistance and responsible enforcement.

According to Mr Thompson, landowners could be encouraged to utilise their properties productively or lease underutilised land to farmers, cooperatives and investors.

“Organised agricultural schemes could also aggregate land, capital, technology and market access to improve productivity and strengthen value chains,” he said.

Mr Thompson emphasised that any measures relating to land use should respect constitutional provisions, statutory requirements, legitimate property rights and due process. He also advocated a coordinated national programme to increase domestic food production and strengthen Nigeria’s resilience to food supply challenges.

He said that the programme should involve federal, state and local governments, farmers, private investors, financial institutions, research organisations and development partners.

The ACCI official identified agricultural finance, irrigation, mechanisation, improved seeds and fertilisers among areas requiring priority attention. He also recommended stronger extension services, research, training, technology adoption and infrastructure for storage, processing and rural transportation.

Mr Thompson said adequate security for farming communities, agricultural investments and supply routes was essential to achieving sustainable food production. He said Nigeria could learn from countries that had successfully integrated technology, research, logistics, cooperative farming, processing and export development into agriculture.

According to him, agricultural prosperity depends not only on land availability but also on technology, finance, infrastructure, knowledge, security and access to markets. He proposed a national digital land audit and mapping exercise to identify underutilised land and support investment and development planning.

He recommended establishing land banks and agricultural clusters to bring farmers, cooperatives, investors and agro-processors together within integrated production systems.

Mr Thompson further called for incentives to encourage productive land use and improve access to finance, infrastructure, technical support and markets. He urged deliberate support for youth and women participation through improved access to land, finance, technology, training and market opportunities.

He also advocated public-private partnerships to attract investment into large-scale food production, agro-processing and agricultural value chains.

The ACCI official proposed transparent monitoring of the programme using targets such as hectares cultivated, food output, jobs created, investments attracted and reductions in post-harvest losses. He called on the federal government to convene a national stakeholders’ summit to develop a practical, legally sound and sustainable framework for productive land use and food security.

(NAN)