A team of Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises, Niger Delta, LIFE-ND has commended the Governor of Abia State for building network of roads that would enhance the off-taking of agric produce of more than 4,500 beneficiaries of the Project, including 600 Business Development Services, BDS - a support group to enhance the growth of beneficiaries' business enterprises.
Speaking on Broadcasting Corporation of Abia, BCA FM radio interactive phone-in programme "Public Arena", on Thursday, March 26, 2026, the team which represented the National Project Coordinator, Engr, Dr Sanni Abiodiun, equally thanked the Governor for his prompt response to payment of Project's counterpart fund, giving credence to the government's agenda of providing sustainable income, job creation and food security in the state.
The guests who were in the state for the validation and assessment of readiness of the project infrastructures for would-be beneficiaries before their financial empowerment, said the exercise was a huge success.
Speaking during the programme, the State Project Coordinator, Uchenna Rowland Onyeizu, Ph.D, lauded the commitment of the Governor in agriculture, especially, according to him, for;
"The immediate payment of our counterpart fund and uniquely creating enabling environment for us to operate in rural areas", by building quality network of roads through the communities to main markets, as a result, reducing agricultural wastages which had been a bane of agricultural enterprises.
He equally commended the determination of the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Cliff Agbaeze, in promoting the agricultural policy of the Governor, noting that his diligent disposition to attending to matters arising from the project is a direct endorsement of the project's successes.
The National Coordinator, Rural Institution, Rural, Youth and Gender, Dr Clement Uwem, not only commended the Governor good network of roads, but also expressed satisfaction in the giant strides of the Governor in creating wealth, and job opportunities for youths, through agric entrepreneurship that would enhance food security, adding that "a man that is a farmer doesn't lack food".
He expressed gratitude to the Governor for the three-year payment of the counterpart fund, tagging it "a big feat", stressing that the current good network of roads would readily enhance the evacuation of agricultural produce from the rural communities to cities, aiding the reduction of post-harvest wastes, which according to him, amount to 40 - 60% food wastages in Nigeria.
He further explained the "Incubator Model" of the Project, where beneficiaries undergo apprenticeship with established agribusiness entrepreneurs to gain skills, mentorship, provided start-up inputs with market linkages, noting that the model has Igbo origin of master - servant apprenticeship before "settlement".
Addressing the project challenges, the National Coordinator, Agribusiness Promotion, Mrs Antonia Esenwa, was particular about the limitation of funds to accommodate the growing interest of youths in the project, having witnessed the successes of earlier beneficiaries, who have risen from the rank of project apprentices to major employers of labour, especially with an exceptional Project Champion representing the Project at Ethiopia, East Africa, adding that 900 incubatees, (would-be beneficiaries), including 600 Business Development Services, BDS, will be selected to support the project beneficiaries to succeed, creating innovative financing, where offtakers and banks could pre-finance their businesses for growth.
However, she stressed on the reformation of mindsets of many Niger Delta youths whose preoccupation is on "having other alternatives that'll give them fast money", noting that in spite of "all the businesses, agriculture is key; you cannot survive without food."
In reaction to the Project's achievements, a caller from Obingwa Obi in Isialangwa South Local Government Area, commended the project for upgrading him to a better living.
LIFE-ND is an IFAD-sponsored Project, an agricultural development initiative sponsored by Federal Government, International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to reduce poverty among youths and women through agribusiness development in the Niger Delta region.
In Abia the Project has trained and empowered more than 4,500 youths, women in cassava, rice, poultry and oil palm processing, including building their skills in various value chains; established facilities to accommodate beneficiaries. However, considering some challenges, the oil palm processing has been substituted for fishery.
Abia LIFE-ND Project currently operates in 100 communities across 10 Local Government Areas of the state.
