About 500 women and youths have been empowered with agricultural working capital by the Federal Government Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises, Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) project in Edo State to enable them start their agribusiness.
LIFE-ND is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in collaboration with the federal government and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC),
The working capital mainly inputs included 25 generating sets, 25 deep freezers, 16 de-feathering machines, six mini haulage tricycles, motorised sprayers and 550 litres of insecticides.
Others are 864 litres of herbicides and 378 bags of fertiliser, 7,500 day-old-chicks, assorted poultry feeds, catfish fingerlings and juveniles, assorted fish feeds, cassava stems and 50 mobile cassava processing machines. Also distributed are fish smoking kilns, nine wheelbarrows and improved rice seed variety.
The commissioner for agriculture and food security, Stephen Idehenre, who flagged off the programme, said agricultural inputs serve as the lifeline for productivity and food security.
Idehenre stated that the state government’s commitment to empowering communities through economic growth was unwavering.
“These are not mere tools, they are instruments of change, catalysts for economic empowerment that will resonate through the fabric of our rural communities.
“We are making an investment in the very heart of our communities, the rural people. IFAD’s motto becomes our guiding principle, reminding us that true development begins by empowering those who toil the land and nurture its pot,” he said.
Also, the state coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Samuel Owoicho, said the inputs distribution was part of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to alleviating poverty and promote food security in the country.
The state project coordinator of LIFE-ND Project, John Omoruyi, said the 500 women and youths were selected from 100 communities in Edo State.
This is the fourth batch of young farmers that have been trained on modern agricultural best practices and empowered to guarantee optimal utilisation of the inputs.
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