Excitement as 3 million women, youths are to benefit from FG's agricultural programme
- Chinyere Ikechukwu-Eneh notes that beneficiaries of the agro-business programme will be between the ages of 18 and 40
- Chinyere remarks that the programme is aimed at ensuring availability of food, economic growth and job creation
- She further notes that the programme seeks to empower 1,200 farmers among others it plans to develop
Three million women and youths nationwide will benefit from an agro-business programme of the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises (LIFE) scheme of the federal government, an official said on Tuesday, January 16.
Dr Chinyere Ikechukwu-Eneh, assistant director, federal ministry of agriculture and rural development, said in Enugu that 24 states would be captured under the pilot phase of the programme.
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The official who was on advocacy visit to Enugu state ministry of agriculture, disclosed that the beneficiaries would be between the ages of 18 and 40.
She noted: “The overall objective of this programme is to contribute to the attainment of food security and economic growth of Nigeria through job creation, value addition and business enterprises and improved livelihood.
“Beneficiaries shall consist largely of young people selected across several agriculture disciplines in a gender-balanced manner with a minimum of 50 per cent women.”
She said 1,200 farmers would also be empowered in the state under the programme.
Ikechukwu-Eneh, who is the team leader for the LIFE in Enugu, stated that the programme would be implemented at the ward level through the establishment of ‘LIFE clusters’.
She explained that the clusters would receive agricultural inputs for sustainable production, agro-processing and packaging facilities and a marketing system designed to connect rural food surplus to urban cities.
The official added that two communities from two local government areas in each of the three senatorial districts benefit.
She said that the selected communities would form five cooperative societies that would be empowered in their chosen areas of enterprise.
Ikechukwu-Eneh, therefore, appealed to the people of the state to make good use of the programme to develop their capacities.
Ikechukwu-Eneh added: “This programme will address the needs of existing cooperative groups that will be encouraged to own enterprises that will help their communities.
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“The minister has also requested that the states identify available rivers, streams and dams for utilisation going forward.”
Responding, the permanent secretary in the ministry, Samuel Onyiaji, described the programme as bold, and advised that prospective beneficiaries be given adequate information on the programme.
Legit.ng reported that the federal government said on Tuesday, January 9, that egg production, processing and marketing could create no fewer than one million jobs through its National Egg Production (NEGPRO) scheme.
Audu Ogbeh, the minister of agriculture and rural development, made this known in Abuja at a meeting with the technical committee on national egg production.
Ebonyi state, Nigeria and West Africa's food capital on Legit.ng TV
Source: Legit.ng
