Three million women and youth nationwide will benefit from an agro-business programme of the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises (LIFE) scheme of the Federal Government, the ministry of agriculture and rural development has said.
An Assistant Director at the Ministry, Dr Chinyere Ikechukwu-Eneh who announced this when she visited the Enugu State Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday said 24 states would be captured under the pilot phase of the programme
She said the beneficiaries would be between age 18 and 40 and that 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, business enterprises and improved livelihood.
The official said beneficiaries will consist largely of young people selected across several agriculture disciplines in a gender-balanced manner with a minimum of 50 per cent women.
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.
The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Samuel Onyiaji, described the programme as bold, and advised that prospective beneficiaries be given adequate information on the programme.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
