Commissioner Confirms Introduction of Fishery in Abia LIFE-ND, as Beneficiaries Complain of Oil Processing Enterprise, Project Selects Trainers
The Abia State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Cliff Agbaeze has confirmed the replacement of oil palm enterprise with agro fishery business in Abia Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises, Niger Delta (LIFE-ND).
This was disclosed by the Abia LIFE-ND State Project Coordinator, Uchenna Rowland Onyeizu, Ph.D., CEnv, during a 2-day validation exercise which commenced on September 23, 2025.
Emphasizing, Onyeizu said the activity is a diligent process to assess the would-be incubators, (trainers), that would train potential beneficiaries for empowerment.
Uchenna Roland Onyeizu,Ph.D., CEnv, Abia State Project Coordinator
He explained the apathy developed by earlier beneficiaries over the years, prompting the introduction of fishery enterprise which the Commissioner and other stakeholders “graciously” adopted.
“Looking at our experience in the past few years, we’ve discovered that we’re having little apathy with regard to beneficiaries that are opting for oil palm agribusiness
“So we’ve thought out ways and made more enquiries from our potential beneficiaries and they seem to have alternative to it.
“So we’ve also engaged the Ministry of Agriculture through the Commissioner of Agriculture who graciously permitted that we change one of our agro commodity which is oil palm to fishery enterprise including its value chains” he said.
Commenting on the exercise, the State Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Azubuike Ogbonna said a good number of fishery farmers from the three senatorial zones of the state indicated interest, surpassing what was expected, labelling the process as “a huge success” and an indication of the Project successes over the years. Azubuike noted the challenge of water sources to some fishery facilities, adding that those who fall under this category may risk rejection.
Applauding the validation visit, the State Rural Institution, Gender and Youth Officer, Anthony Nwaobilor confirmed the on-the-spot assessment was to ensure that the Project potential beneficiaries would receive quality training to enhance their performance when empowered.
