The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has stated that Nigeria cannot achieve its goal of food sovereignty without fully harnessing the potential of its youth.

Dede Ekoue, Country Director, IFAD, said this in Benin on Thursday at the 5th Supervision Mission of the Federal Government, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and IFAD—Lifelihood Improvement Family Enterprises —Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) Project.

Ekoue, who said LIFE-ND is aimed at empowering youth and women with practical skills in agric business in the Niger Delta region, noted that to achieve this, the programme adopted a model where all trainees pass through what is referred to as incubation.

The country director, while stating that IFAD invested over $30m in the first phase of the LIFE-ND project with over 26,000 beneficiaries, added: “LIFE-ND is a unique programme to us at IFAD. We are committed to empowering youth in the agric business and to generating jobs.”

She stressed, “We are talking about agricultural food system transformation; it is a key topic on the global platform. Food sovereignty cannot be achieved without fully harnessing the potential of young people in agriculture. Youth has the largest population. So, LIFE-ND aims to empower youth with practical skills through a business incubation model. By the time they complete the incubation process, they emerge as business owners. They can set up an agricultural business.

“And we have a good story in terms of linking these agric business owners to the market. So, income generation and sales are not issues for them.

“Creating jobs for youths is the key to enabling growth; it is the key to peace; it is the key to development; it is the key to business growth.”

In empowerment of women, the country director said, “LIFE-ND also emphasises women. Women are key to food production, food transformation, food sovereignty, and proper nutrition. This is what LIFE-ND is delivering.”

Ekoue, while expressing satisfaction at the fourth supervision of the project, said that the supervision, which was carried out by an independent team, was to “access progresses, identified the challenges and opportunities for improvement, and to develop some recommendations for further enhancing,” adding that this would give a cue whether to continue with the project or discontinue.

On his part, National Coordinator of LIFE-ND, Dr. Abiodun Sanni, stated that the first phase of the programme, which covered six states — Ondo, Edo, Abia, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Delta — in the region, had 26,470 beneficiaries, including young agro-entrepreneurs, youths, women, and persons with disabilities across various commodities in the value chain.

Sanni, while expressing his commitment to realising the transformative agenda of the project, which he said aligns with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, disclosed that 4,380 beneficiaries are currently being enrolled in this ongoing phase, adding: “We are going to add more beneficiaries as more funds come from our sponsors.”

Representative of the NDDC, Stella Manureh, said the LIFE-ND project “is our shared commitment to improving the lives of the Niger Delta people through food security. IFAD, your continued investment in agriculture has improved the livelihood of the people. It enforces our collective responsibility for transparency and accountability.”