By Amby Uneze
The Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma has made a passionate appeal to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to extend the benefits of the FGN/NDDC/IFAD Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises (LIFE-ND) to all the 27 local government areas of the State in order to increase food production and improve the living standard of the people in the grassroots.
Declaring open a three-day orientation training for the third batch of Incubatees and Incubators in Owerri, capital of Imo State over the weekend, the governor, represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Chief Cosmas Maduba emphasised the need for the programme to spread across the 27 local governments of the State as well as capturing more participants as a way of empowering the grassroots to be self-sufficient in food production.
He praised the noble ideas of the originators of the programme especially as it targets on the youths of the rural areas as well as an effort to reduce criminal activities, adding that among other Federal, State and Donor agencies-sponsored progrmmes, this particular one happens to be the most effective in terms of touching the lives of the grassroots and actually mobilizing youths towards the agricultural sector.
According to the Commissioner, as a matter of fact I must say that since I assumed office as the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, this Life-ND has been the most successful, encouraging and prosperous as long as reaching the grassroots in the area of agriculture is concerned.
“The aim of the government is to make sure that the citizens are satisfied hence the governor quickly approved the counterpart funding thereby becoming the first governor to do so in the Niger Delta region. So the government is encouraging any activity in the area of the agricultural sector that would enhance productivity, availability and quality food to our people,” he said.
He commended the people for their interest in the programme and urged the participants to take the training seriously in order to create impact in food production as well as being self-sufficient in that area.
In his remarks, the State NDDC Representative, Dr. Kerian Uchegbu expressed gratitude to the State governor for developing interest in the programme to see that the people of the State benefit from such a noble programme.
He promised to relay the request of the State government to the Commission since it was to the overall benefit of the people and State in general. The NDDC, according to him has been involved in so many activities targeting at enhancing the wellbeing of the people, including scholarships, improvement in area of fighting insecurity and youth training.
Welcoming the participants and guests, the State Project Coordinator of Life-ND, Mrs. Victoria Igboanugo had earlier told the participants that the orientation training marks the beginning of their journey in the Life-ND project, designed to prepare them for the task ahead by exposing them to the key areas such as environmental and climate awareness, nutrition mainstreaming, record keeping, gender inclusion, and the use of technology in managing agribusiness.
She said that the training would equip them with the knowledge and mindset required to operate efficiently as responsible and successful agripreneurs.
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