The Delta Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Val Arenyeka, says the LIFE-ND agribusiness incubation model is yielding tangible results.
Arenyeka stated this on Tuesday in Asaba at the pre-wrap-up meeting of the Sixth Joint Supervision Mission of IFAD and LIFE-ND stakeholders.
The mission assessed progress and challenges in implementing the project across nine participating states in the Niger Delta region.
He described the annual supervision exercise as a welcome development, adding that it provided an opportunity to assess the project’s achievements and challenges.
Arenyeka said LIFE-ND was one of the major interventionist agricultural programmes implemented in the participating states in recent times.
He said the supervision team visited several communities in Delta to obtain firsthand information from incubators, incubatees and community leaders.
According to him, the team visited Agbor-Obi and Ekuma communities in Ika South Local Government Area and Emu-Obodeti in Ndokwa West LGA.
He said the team inspected three greenhouse facilities at Agbor-Obi, where habanero and bell peppers were cultivated alongside various vegetables.
He listed the vegetables as amaranthus, pumpkin leaf and Corchorus olitorius, commonly known as ewédú.
Arenyeka said the team also inspected a poultry facility at Ekuma comprising a five-compartment pen, a biogas brooding system and a Black Soldier Fly facility.
He said the innovations promoted waste-to-wealth initiatives and environmentally sustainable agricultural practices among beneficiaries.
The commissioner said the mission also visited a mini oil-palm processing facility, an open market and lock-up shops at Emu-Obodeti.
He said the team interacted with beneficiaries and stakeholders to assess the interventions’ impact, growth and sustainability.
Arenyeka said the state government would sustain the incubation model and deploy it to train 10,000 youths in agriculture across Delta.
He said Delta surpassed its initial LIFE-ND target of 4,250 beneficiaries by reaching 4,373 people during the project’s first six-year implementation period.
He added that the Additional Financing Phase had a target of 10,805 beneficiaries in the state.
“This achievement demonstrates the commitment of the State Government, project team, incubators, beneficiaries and communities to successful implementation,” Arenyeka said.
He said the achievement was supported by strong collaboration between the Delta Government and the LIFE-ND Project Steering Committee.
Arenyeka stressed the need to sustain structures established under the programme, including CADA, LABIF, Enterprise Groups and other community institutions.
“These institutions must be sufficiently strengthened and positioned to take ownership, mobilise resources, maintain facilities and continue providing value,” he said.
He thanked the Federal Government, NDDC, IFAD, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Federal Ministry of Finance for supporting the project.
He also appreciated the National and State Project Coordinators and other stakeholders involved in assessing the project’s progress, impact and sustainability.
The LIFE-ND National Project Coordinator, Dr Abiodun Sanni, commended the achievements recorded across the nine participating states.
Sanni said the project had achieved more than 85 per cent of its objectives across the participating states.
He said the supervision exercise enabled the team to engage incubatees, incubators, community leaders and other stakeholders directly.
“We have seen and experienced what LIFE-ND has done in improving the livelihood of our rural youths and women,” Sanni said.
He said the team was encouraged by the enthusiasm, community ownership and support received from the Delta Government.
The State Project Coordinator, Mr Collins Ashoro, urged the government to provide additional funding to extend the programme to more local government areas.
Ashoro said the project’s thematic value chains included cassava processing, oil-palm processing, poultry and fisheries.
It was reported that LIFE-ND is sponsored by the Federal and state governments, financed by IFAD and supported by NDDC.
