By ABUBAKAR YUNUSA
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has called for the expansion of the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises programme in the Niger Delta (LIFE-ND).
Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, managing director of NDDC, said this on Tuesday during a courtesy visit by a delegation from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the federal ministry of agriculture and rural development.
“We believe in the IFAD training program. NDDC intends to make this training program more dynamic, and shrinking it is not an option because oil is not the only available resource in the Niger Delta region,” Audu-Ohwavborua said.
The LIFE-ND is a project of the federal government of Nigeria designed in collaboration with IFAD and NDDC.
The project is aimed at getting youths and women to engage in productive activities relating to commercial agriculture.
According to a statement on its website, the project is in response to the limited readily available options for the “disadvantaged” (youth and women) in rural and suburban communities to improve their livelihood and help them live decent lives.
The government said LIFE-ND community beneficiaries are identified, trained and supported in different segments of agriculture along the entire value chain.
This support includes access to affordable agricultural inputs for sustainable production, agro-processing & packaging, transportation and link to competitive financing and markets.
The LIFE-ND is currently targeted at nine states, including Cross River, Rivers, Edo, Bayelsa, Ondo, Akwa-Ibom, Imo, Abia and Delta.
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