Mr John Omoruyi, Project Coordinator, Edo Federal Government/International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)- Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprise in Niger Delta (LIFE-ND), says the project had contributed 20 metric tones of rice to the state food basket.
Omoruyi said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Benin City, on the sidelines of a media tour on LIFE-ND projects in some communities in the state.
He said the yield was recorded from 15 beneficiaries in six communities across two Local Government Areas of Etsako Central and Esan South East of the state.
The coordinator said 2,250 youths and women have benefitted from the project since 2021
Omoruyi, who said 30 beneficiaries were initially targeted on rice production in the state, said that farmland of 15 beneficiaries were submerged by flood in 2022.
According to him, communities that benefited in Etsako Central included Oghomere, Oshomegbe, Udabba, Ugbekpe-Ekperi and Anegbette while Esan South East community is Illushi.
He said the beneficiaries were supported in the areas of production and processing rice seed multiplication.
“Rice production, processing and rice seed multiplication beneficiaries has been supported by the project with working capital to procure inputs such as FARO 44 rice seed variety, agrochemicals and fertilizers
“They were also supported with productive assets such as motorised knapsack sprayers from 2021 till date.
“Furthermore, 30 hectares of land development was carried out through tractorisation for these beneficiaries.
“10 rice seed multiplication beneficiaries were trained in the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan in 2021 for two weeks,”he said.
“The project is fashioned around the Incubator (trainer) and incubatee (trainee) model where there are already established big farmers with full potential across 10 local government areas in each state which comprises 100 communities.
“The youths from these 100 communities are trained by incubators for certain weeks, graduated and then supported in cassava, fishery, rice and poultry across the four commodities value chains.
“The overall goal is to realise a transformed rural economy in which the rural population can derive prosperity for equal benefit.
“Its development objectives are to enhance income, food security and job creation for rural youth and women through agri enterprise development on a sustainable basis in the region.” he said,”he said. (NAN
By Felicia Imohimi
-){kind=link}