At the Sixth Joint Supervision Mission of the projects by all the stakeholders of the LIFE-ND Project in Ekuma Community, Delta state.
Dr Sanni Abiodun, National Project Coordinator, Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises-Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) says the project has impacted youths and women through technology driving agribusiness in the nine Niger Delta states.
Abiodun stated this in an interview during the two-day Sixth Joint Supervision Mission of the projects by all the stakeholders of the LIFE-ND Project in Asaba, Delta.
According to him, the stakeholders are the Federal Government, Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and the major donors, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)and the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC).
He said that many communities in the region are yarning to benefit from the projects, which had greatly improved the livelihood of the beneficiaries in the region.
He urged the beneficiaries to be steadfast in all they were given and what they have learnt and put them into proper use as worthy ambassadors of the project.
“We are quite sure that if they are worthy ambassadors, those who are financing the project will be willing to put in more funds.
“We can expand what we have done to other youths and women in other communities, who are yearning to be part of the project.
Abiodun said the programme has put sustainability plans in place to ensure that beneficiaries continued to grow their business, creat jobs and incomes to guarantee the enhanced livelihood after the projects exited.
“A sustainability plan of the project is enshrined in the institutional arrangement that we have put in place.
“We have the Community Affairs Development Association, we have various enterprise groups that we have substantially built their capacities to interact with others because they are private sector.
“The project has also built the private public sector actors that will catalyse whatever actions they want to take, so that by the time the project is completed, they will learn to do it on their own.
“The beneficiaries can identify those that are able to give them the support they need and be able to expand and deliver appropriately as a group, so that their businesses will continue to thrive and largely contribute to the food security of the state.
“We have seen the progress, the success story and all, and we have seen that the collaboration between the Federal government, IFAD and other partners have greatly impacted the beneficiaries in the nine Niger Delta states of Nigeria.”
Also, Dr Ehimhen Eigbe, Director, Agriculture and Fisheries, NDDC, said the team is satisfied with the field supervision of the projects, adding that evidence of the project was visible in all the places visited.
“The visit is something really very interesting and I hope that with the success story of this, we can replicate more of these projects in so many other communities within the Niger Delta region.
“It will help in bringing down cost of food and engage our teaming youths, and from other places we visited, we could see the enthusiasm in the youths, who are going into farming.
He acknowledged that with extra funds, the project beneficiaries could go extra mile to achieve a great mileage in the agribusiness programme.
“It is a programme I would prefer
we pump more money into, to support and make it bigger and replicate it in other places apart from this community,” Eigbe said.
On her part, the National Environmental and Climate Change Specialist, LIFE-ND, Benigho Wategire, said the project has adopted technology driving agribusiness to enable beneficiaries reduce cost of doing business and to enhance their productivity, welfare and income.
According to her, the project has adopted innovations to reduce cost of poultry and fish productions by the farmers.
“The cost of feed has gone up recently that we had to think of a way to help the farmers also stay in business and make sure that their products are actually growing very well.
“So, we came up with Black Soldier Fly Lava Production. Why this is very important is that the lava has everything the feed contains in fact it contains even more.
“A 0.5 kg of the lava can feed over 100 beds for a day and all they have to
take is water, so that’s how cheap it is and then to start it is very easy and very cheap and taking care of birds is less stressful.”
Some of the beneficiaries lauded the project, and pledged to sustain the programme while calling for more funds to expand their businesses.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the LIFE-ND project is sponsored by the Federal and states government, financed by IFAD and supported by NDDC.
The team visited LIFE-ND projects in Agbor Obi and Ekuma Abavo communities in Ika South Local Government Area of Delta and other places. (NAN) (NAN)
