No fewer than 500 women and 100 youths, drawn from 100 communities, have been empowered with agricultural inputs by the Federal Government and the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises, Niger Delta project in Edo State, to enable them to start their agribusiness.
The working inputs included 25 generators, 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 fertilisers, 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 to the beneficiaries were fish smoking kilns, nine wheelbarrows, and improved rice seed varieties.
Flagging off the distribution, the Edo State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Stephen Idehenre, said the agricultural inputs served as the lifeline for productivity and food security.
Idehenre stated that the state government’s commitment to empowering communities through economic growth was unwavering.
He said, “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 investing 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.”
The Edo State Coordinator, Federal Ministry for Agriculture and Food Security, Samuel Owoicho, said the distribution of inputs was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to alleviating poverty and promoting food security in the country.
He said the Federal Government was ensuring job creation that would not only generate income for the youth but also resonate through the communities.
He added, “It will help them project agriculture in their various communities and help alleviate poverty among the youth and women.”
The state Project Coordinator of LIFE-ND Project, John Omoruyi, said the 500 women and 100 youths were selected from 100 communities in Edo State
This is the fourth batch of young farmers trained in modern agricultural best practices and empowered to guarantee optimal utilisation of the inputs.
Omoruyi stated that the LIFE-ND project was passionate about rendering support for youth, women and people living with disabilities.
He averred that providing modern farm inputs is a fulfilment of the project’s mandate, adding that farm inputs were a catalyst for increased agricultural yield
Omoruyi noted further that the selected agribusinesses for Edo were fishery, cassava, rice and poultry, saying that the project had recorded significant milestones since its inception.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development funds the LIFE-ND project in collaboration with the Federal Government and the Niger Delta Development Commission.
