The National Project Coordinator (NPC) of The Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises Project for the Niger Delta (LIFE-ND), Dr Abiodun Sani, has disclosed that the project has reached 15,980 farmers and created 12,000 in the six participating states in the Niger Delta region.
Addressing journalists at the end of a media tour on some of the projects being executed by LIFE-ND, Dr Sani explained that LIFE-ND project is an initiative of the federal government in collaboration with International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), as well as the state governments of the Niger Delta regions to ensure a sustainable agricultural development and improved income as well as job creation within the region among the youths and women.
He said since inception, the project has been able to inject over $20 million to the rural economy, that’s substantively close to N16 billion and largely as a project.
The six participating states include Abia, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Ondo States.
The remaining three states of Imo, Rivers and Akwa Ibom have not commenced implementation because the NDDC has not released its own counterpart fund for the project to commence.
“We have been able to create over 12,000 jobs and ensure that largely we have over 15,960 enterprises running across the six participating states of the region, and as a project, we have been able to also ensure that reasonably, over 80 percent of our beneficiaries have access to an improved natural diet.
“The project has made key performance of it especially in the area of ensuring that our people have access to climate friendly infrastructure and we have been able to ensure that our farmers have access to improved technological practice, over 80 percent are adopting the best agricultural practices especially in terms of farming techniques within the entire value chain of the seven commodities we are intervening. So largely, the project has impacted on the lives of the youth and women of the Niger-Delta region”, he said.
Furthermore, Dr Sani explained: “we are working on 25,500 because that 32,500 is for the nine states but eventually, three states are not participating because the NDDC has not been able to meet its own financial commitment, so out of 25,500, we have 15,960 beneficiaries now and over 12,000 jobs have been created and are fully active, and our youths are happy.
“As a project, there is a deliberate effort to capture beneficiaries living with disabilities, initially at the onset, we made the equation of 5 percent of the entire target, as we bring on board beneficiaries of the project, now, we have made efforts to increase to 10 percent, so largely, as a project, we are PWD compliant and we got the support of people living with disabilities”, Dr Sani said.
He said the project has hit over the 60 percent mark as they are approaching the 5th year of implementation. The LIFE-ND NPC expressed optimism that within the next year, the project will be able to achieve its 100 percent mark.
He said that the federal government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, which is the lead implementing agency has approached the management of NDDC through the Ministry of Niger Delta affairs to ensure that NDDC meets up with its counter funds contribution.
“We have been intervening with the management of NDDC to ensure that this commitment is met within the shortest possible time, and other stakeholders within the region are also making moves to ensure that NDDC meets up with the responsibility in paying the$30 million commitment it has promised IFAD”, he noted.
The project is targeting seven commodities across the participating states, with each state focusing on 4 commodities.
The seven commodities include; Cassava, Rice, Plantain, Oil palm, Cocoa, Poultry (broilers and layers), and Fishery (Aquaculture and artisanal).
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