The Federal Government has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) with the Niger state for the provision of mass housing and agricultural settlement for the state’s farmers.
Signed on Friday in Abuja, the project entails the Niger state government to provide 1000,000 hectares for the farm estate.
The Niger State farm estate project, first of its kind in the country, has key partners which include the Ministry of Finance Incorporated ( MOFI), Family Homes Funds Limited ( FHFL), Rural Electrification Agency ( REA) and Niger Foods Limited.
The Minister of State for Finance, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, signed on behalf of MOFI, while the Niger State Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Umaru Bago, signed for Niger State.
Dr Doris described the MoU not just as a housing intervention, but a settlement framework for farmers, aimed at strengthening agricultural value chains and improving livelihoods across the state.
The Minister said the choice of Niger state to pilot the farmers’ estate was a deliberate choice.
“Niger State remains one of Nigeria’s most agriculturally endowed states. Yet, challenges such as insecure settlements, rural-urban migration, and inadequate infrastructure continue to limit the full potential of our farming communities.
This initiative seeks to address these challenges by providing structured, secure, and well-planned housing settlements for farmers, strategically located to support agricultural production, storage, processing, and market access.
She said by anchoring farmers in stable communities with access to basic infrastructure, “the project will enhance productivity, reduce post-harvest losses, improve security, and encourage youth participation in agriculture”.
She said when farmers are properly settled, agriculture becomes more efficient, more attractive, and more profitable.
“This project adopts an innovative financing model that blends public assets with private investment, ensuring sustainability, transparency, and shared risk.
It allows the government to focus on enabling policy and oversight while leveraging the efficiency and scale of the private sector.
Beyond its agricultural focus, the project promotes job security by creating stable, long-term employment across agriculture, agro-processing, renewable energy maintenance, logistics, and community services.
She said the mass housing and settlement project will stimulate broad-based economic activity by creating jobs for engineers, builders, artisans, suppliers, and service providers.
“It will support local industries such as cement, steel, agro-processing, logistics, and transportation. It will strengthen rural economies and contribute meaningfully to the state’s internally generated revenue. Affordability and inclusiveness are central to this initiative”
She described MOFI’s role in the project as both strategic and catalytic. As a key institution under the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Minister said MOFI brings deep expertise in asset optimisation, project structuring, and private capital mobilisation.
Through this collaboration, she said public land and assets were being transformed into productive economic instruments that deliver tangible value to citizens while reducing fiscal pressure on government.
“This project adopts an innovative financing model that blends public assets with private investment, ensuring sustainability, transparency, and shared risk. It allows the government to focus on enabling policy and oversight, while leveraging the efficiency and scale of the private sector.
Beyond its agricultural focus, the project promotes job security by creating stable, long-term employment across agriculture, agro-processing, renewable energy maintenance, logistics, and community services.
The mass housing and settlement project will stimulate broad-based economic activity. It will create jobs for engineers, builders, artisans, suppliers, and service providers.
It will support local industries such as cement, steel, agro-processing, logistics, and transportation. It will strengthen rural economies and contribute meaningfully to the state’s internally generated revenue.
Affordability and inclusiveness are central to this initiative. These settlements are not luxury estates. They are designed to be functional, cost-effective, and aligned with the income realities of farmers and low- to middle-income earners.
Transparent allocation mechanisms and strong governance structures will ensure that the benefits reach the intended beneficiaries.
Sustainability also remains a key priority, with integrated renewable energy solutions, including solar-powered homes and community facilities, to ensure reliable electricity, reduce energy costs, and support agro-processing and storage activities.
As these settlements are developed, emphasis will be placed on efficient land use, access roads, water solutions, and environmentally responsible building practices that support long-term community growth”, she said.
The minister notes that the MoU was a demonstration of cooperative federalism, strategic alignment, and shared commitment to inclusive economic development, a development that aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
With the Federal Ministry of Finance serving as the anchor, this initiative benefits from strong policy coordination, financial credibility, and institutional oversight at the highest level.
“Housing, as we know, is a fundamental pillar of development. But in Niger State, housing also intersects directly with agriculture, food security, rural stability, and economic productivity.
This project is therefore deliberately designed not just as a housing intervention, but as a settlement framework for farmers, aimed at strengthening agricultural value chains and improving livelihoods across the state.
In a remark, Governor Umaru Bago lauded the project as a milestone.
He said he was in Saudi Arabia for a lesser Hajj when the Minister brokered the idea to him on the phone, an idea that aligns with the State agriculture program.
Bago said the state will provide 100,000 hectares of land for the farm estate and promised to present the Certificate of Occupation ( Cof O) of the land to the Minister of State for Finance on Monday.
He said his government is deliberate and committed to transitioning the people out of poverty.
” We are happy to be chosen for the pilot stage. This will address the issue of insecurity. Niger state has the largest mechanised land of all the states in Nigeria. With this initiative, we have solved 80 per cent of our problems.
“We have a mission to develop a rail line from Minna to Abuja, and there would be a farming corridor. We will create grazing reserves in the farm estate”, said the Niger state governor.
