Niger Delta young farmers embrace fish, poultry farming
Young farmers in the Niger Delta region are gradually seeing opportunities in fishery, poultry, oil palm, rice, plantain, and cassava production to earn a living. The Federal Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) developed the LIFE-ND programme in 2019. Its goal is to promote income-generating enterprises in the agribusiness value chain for […]
Young farmers in the Niger Delta region are gradually seeing opportunities in fishery, poultry, oil palm, rice, plantain, and cassava production to earn a living.
The Federal Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) developed the LIFE-ND programme in 2019. Its goal is to promote income-generating enterprises in the agribusiness value chain for youth and women, including people living with disabilities, in the Niger Delta.
The project targets 38,250 beneficiaries in the nine Niger Delta states: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, and Rivers.
With the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) providing counterpart funds for beneficiaries from Akwa Ibom, Imo, and Rivers states, the implementation team’s assessment reports from these states indicate positive impacts on the beneficiaries.
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Some of the youth who enrolled as “incubatees” in the project in Akwa Ibom, Imo, and Rivers said they’ve acquired good skills in how to produce, process, and market their products profitably along the selected value chains.
During recent monitoring visits to selected farms in Imo, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers, officials from the project and the Niger Delta Development Commission observed that some young farmers, who are ‘mentees’ in well-established farms under mentorship, are learning a lot.
Mr. Bassey Eteyit, an “incubator” and General Manager of Eteyit Farms in the Essien Udim area of Akwa Ibom State, has 10 youth under his farm. He noted, “As they are now, they have fair knowledge of fish production and can process fish for marketing. It is a project I believe is quite laudable and sustainable.”
One of the incubatees, Utibe Monday Alexander, said the project has helped a lot. “I came here with no knowledge and anything, but I now know how to rear fish and even process them for marketing,” he stated.
The project inspection team to Imo State, led by Wale Oretan, a Deputy Director of Agric & Fisheries, commended the incubator and the ‘incubatees’ of cassava and aquaculture at Nnebukwu town in Izombe, Imo State.
The ‘incubatees’ of aquaculture and its value chain under Uchegbu Chijioke (incubator) expressed their happiness with the enterprise and its value chain, now that they have been exposed to it and have learned so much.
“We have now discovered ourselves and can stand on our own. We can now do direct and indirect fish marketing businesses, as well as handle digitalized fish marketing businesses,” he said.