The Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises for the Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) has handed over a rice-processing mill to the Amamba Uzuakoli community in Bende Local Government Area of Abia.
The facility was handed over to the Commodity Apex Development Association (CADA) on Friday to promote community ownership and sustainable management.
The State Project Coordinator, Dr Uchenna Onyeizu, said LIFE-ND had empowered more than 5,000 youths and women through its interventions.
Onyeizu, represented by the State Rural Institution, Youth and Gender Officer, Anthony Nwaobilor, said the mill would improve incomes, food security and employment.
“Today represents more than the transfer of a physical facility. It represents the transfer of responsibility and the strengthening of community ownership,” he said.
He urged CADA to manage the facility transparently, accountably and fairly, in line with LIFE-ND guidelines.
“This facility must be managed in the collective interest,” he said, stressing the need to protect the investment.
He expressed hope that the mill would become a centre for opportunity, productivity and sustainable agribusiness development.
The State Agribusiness Promotion Officer, Godwin Chukwuekezie, described the facility as a one-stop centre for rice processing.
He said its equipment included a winnowing machine, steam boiler, automatic dryer, milling machine, de-stoning machine and power engine.
Chukwuekezie explained that farmers could process paddy into finished rice within a day through parboiling, drying, milling and de-stoning.
He added that an operations and maintenance team had been established to ensure preventive maintenance and the equipment’s sustainability.
The President-General of Amamba Uzuakoli, Nelson Umuezurike, thanked LIFE-ND for locating the multi-million-naira project in the community.
He said the intervention would help reduce youth restiveness while creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for residents.
In his response, CADA Chairman Chibueze Ihedioha pledged that the association would manage the facility fairly and responsibly.
The ceremony included the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and the presentation of the facility’s keys to CADA leaders.
