International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has urged the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), to provide 30 million dollars counterpart funding to fast-track implementation of the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises in Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) project.
Mr Abiodun Sanni, National Project Coordinator, LIFE-ND, made the call at the project Third Joint Implementation Support Mission Wrap-up meeting, on Thursday in Abuja.
LIFE-ND was being implemented by IFAD and the Federal Government to support the Nigeria Green Alternative Roadmap for Agriculture and Strategic Framework aimed at enhancing youth empowerment and job creation as well as support the NDDC master plan for the development of the Niger Delta region.
The strategies were motivated by the waste of potentials and growing restiveness among estimated 22 million unemployed youth especially in rural areas who need economic opportunities to improve their livelihood.
Sanni said that the LIFE-ND was targeting nine states including Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Imo, Abia, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Ondo.
He said that the NDDC at the inception of the project in 2019 pledged 30 million dollars to fund three states of Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and Imo.
“However, from the commencement of the project in 2019 till date, the commission was yet to meet up with its commitment, the lapses are major challenge to the timely implementation of the project,” he said.
He urged the NDDC to match its commitment with action by providing its quota to the development of the region.
Sanni said the overall goal of LIFE-ND was to realise a transformed rural economy in which the rural population can derive prosperity and equal benefits.
He said the central thrust of the project was to use the incubation model to drive and promote agribusiness enterprise development among women and youths in rural areas of Niger Delta region.
According to him, the project is supported by a strategic Project Development Objectives (PDO) to enhance income, food security and job creation for rural youth and women through agribusiness development on sustainable basis.
“IFAD, the donor agency is to fund the project with the sum of 60 million dollars loan, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) is the lead implementing agency, and the FG is to contribute 4.6 million dollars.
“Benefiting states are to contribute 4.91 million dollars while NDDC co-implementing agency is to contribute 30 million dollars.
“The chunk of the counterpart funding is supposed to have come from the NDDC and we are engaging our stakeholders to link up with the commission so that they meet up with their commitment to support the LIFE-ND project in the region.
“The target of the project is to ensure we have at least 4,250 agro entrepreneurs in each of the nine Niger Delta States.
“We will be able to move in that direction bearing in mind the release of fund for the project so far,” he said.
In his remarks, Mr Patrick Habamenshi, Country Programme Manager, IFAD, said that the amount available for stipends and working capital for incubators and incubatees remained one of the greatest challenge of the project, adding that it need to be address to achieve the set objectives.
He further frowned at increased risk of dropping the three NDDC funded states during the midterm review due to the failure of the commission to mobilise its counterpart funding.
The Programme Manager, who stressed the need for strong advocacy in Cross River State, said that IFAD was exploring viable option to bridge the 32 million dollars funding gaps from co-financing partners.
He said the project would adopt proactive steps to address impact of inflation on support available for incubatees and salaries structures of operating cost to fast track commencement of the project in Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and Imo States in 2022.
“Prices of goods and services have doubled since the design of the project in 2016, the initial estimate of working capital and stipend ceilings at the moment are obsolete and needed to be reassess.
“Another impact of the increased cost of living is that the salary structure of the project is not competitive with the labour market conditions in the region which makes it difficult to attract the most qualified candidates or retain them.
“Developing closer integration of the technical, entrepreneurial and mainstreaming contents of the incubation process to grow young entrepreneurs ready to operate at various links among others,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Ubandoma Ularami, Director, Project Coordinating Unit, Federal Ministry of Finance assured the commitment of the ministry in ensuring availability of fund to ensure full participation of the nine benefiting states.
Ularami said that the ministry would collaborate with the National Assembly to ensure adequate funding of NDDC, to meet its counterpart fund of the three states lagging behind. (NAN)
