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By Nurudeen Alimi
ABOUT thirty-eight thousand women and youths from the Niger Delta region have started to benefit from the $60 million livelihood project funded by the Federal Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
During an interactive session with journalists at the weekend in Port Harcourt, some beneficiaries expressed their gratitude to those behind the multimillion-dollar project.
However, it was gathered that while some of the trainees, known as incubatees, have learned poultry farming, others have started making fortunes from cash crops, even as many of them have already become employers of labour. National coordinator of the project tagged FGN/NDDC/IFAD Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises – Niger Delta (LIFE-ND), Abiodun Sanni, explained that the initiative was a game changer as many graduates who could not find employment are now employers at a media roundtable in Port Harcourt with some of the beneficiaries in attendance.
Sanni said that the project which began in December 2019 covers nine oil-producing states under the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Abia, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross-River, Akwa-Ibom, Edo, Delta, Ondo, and Imo are among the states.
According to him, the NDDC is anticipated to provide $30 million in funding for the three states of Akwa Ibom, Imo, and Rivers, while the IFAD is providing $60 million for projects in Abia, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Ondo. He said by December 31, 2022, LIFE-ND had supported over 700 incubators and facilitated the establishment of 5,194 women and youths incubatees enterprises.
He said: “Additionally, a total of 6,964 incubators and incubates including women, youths and the vulnerable people trained on various topics in agricultural entrepreneurship and good agricultural practices covering the business cycle of the beneficiary’s business of choice.”
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