The Federal Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) project has injected about $20 million into the rural economy of six states in the Niger Delta region.
The Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprise Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) project, which commenced in 2019, has, so far, supported 14,155 people and created 12,000 jobs in the six participating states, including Delta, Bayelsa, Edo, Ondo, Cross River and Abia.
The National Project Coordinator, LIFE-ND project, Dr. Abiodun Sanni, while speaking to journalists in Asaba, at the weekend, after a tour of the project, said the project has contributed to the economic development and wealth creation in the region. He said the project has injected about $20 million (N16 billion) into the rural economy of the Niger Delta since inception.
He explained: “If we measure it based on the value of what we have injected into working capital framework that has been put in place, as well as output from the field in terms of productivity of farmers and the income generated over time across the seven value chain in the six states, that was how we arrived at the figure.”
He said the LIFE-ND project is an initiative of the Federal Government in collaboration with IFAD, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the states in the Niger Delta region to ensure sustainable agricultural development, improved income and job creation among youths in the region.
Sanni added that the LIFE-ND project has also led to the establishment of 15,000 enterprises across the six participating states in the project, adding that they ensure that over 80 per cent of their enterprises have access to insurance services, as well as ensure farmers adopt improved agricultural technological practices.
He mentioned that “the target is to reach 32,500 beneficiaries in the nine participating states, but for now, as the project is approaching the fifth year of implementation, they have reached 60 per cent beneficiaries, and hopefully by next year the project should be able to achieve 100 per cent mark.”
