WorldStage– The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has commenced construction of a technology-driven Agricultural Incubation Centre at the University of Abuja, in a move aimed at strengthening food security and promoting agricultural innovation.
The project, located on a 10-hectare site within the university campus, is designed as a commercial agricultural hub integrating poultry production, aquaculture, crop cultivation, and research-based innovation. When completed, the centre is expected to serve as a model facility for replication across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
The facility will house an agribusiness training and incubation centre, alongside commercially sustainable production units for broiler and layer poultry, catfish and tilapia farming, greenhouse crop production, and open-field cultivation, supported by modern irrigation systems and agricultural technologies.
Speaking on the project, the Acting Coordinating Director, Engineering Infrastructure Directorate at NASENI Headquarters, Engr. Dr. Abdulrasheed Agavah, said the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in boosting food production.
“This agricultural incubation centre, which will be commissioned this year, is designed to make food more available and affordable through technology driven farming, breeding and research,” Agavah said, adding that its location within a university environment will strengthen research, innovation and knowledge transfer.
He disclosed that a similar project is ongoing at Bayero University, Kano, with plans to replicate the initiative at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, and other geopolitical zones.
Also speaking during an on-site inspection, the Project Manager of Onida Agric and Aquaculture Solutions Ltd, Mr. Christian Montano, said the poultry component includes a 5,000-capacity broiler unit and an 8,000-capacity layer unit, while the aquaculture section will feature three production tanks with an estimated annual output of about 25 tonnes of fish.
Montano added that the crop segment comprises 10 greenhouse tunnels of 500 square metres each, a 2.5-hectare net house, and four hectares of open-field farmland, while a tissue culture laboratory will help speed up seedling production and improve crop quality.
He noted that the centre will also be supported by six solar powered boreholes, an irrigation control room, workshops and other auxiliary facilities, with plans underway to build a water retention structure to ensure year-round water supply.
