| ID: | 82676 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Nigeria |
| Title: | Nigeria - Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises, Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) – November 2023 |
| Description: |
Christopher Joseph, 33, raking cocoa beans in his dry slab structure in Idanre, Ondo state, southwestern Nigeria. Christopher joined the LIFE-ND program as an incubatee in October 2020 and transitioned from a business administration graduate to a successful cocoa aggregator. After finishing the mentorship programme, he established a two-hectare cocoa plantation before diversifying into marketing. Christopher buys fermented cocoa beans from local farmers and dries them using the dry slab structure provided by LIFE-ND. The drying method is faster and more hygienic, preventing contamination from rain and roaming livestock. Since starting his business, Cristopher has sold more than five tons of dried beans to offtakers who quality test them for moisture and mold content and tag them for traceability. Premium beans are exported for chocolate production and others repurposed for soaps and creams. Additionally, he supports local cocoa producers in his community by providing credit and accepting farm products as collateral. "I had no job before. Now I am proud to be a businessman. My life is getting better," Christopher expressed, emphasizing his plans to expand and elevate his business while helping more farmers. The IFAD-funded Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises – Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) project in southern Nigeria helps rural youth and women make a living from agriculture. The project uses an incubator model to help unemployed or underemployed rural youth and women develop entrepreneurial skills, enabling them to sustainably enhance their incomes and food security, and embrace agriculture as a business. The goal of LIFE-ND is to transform the rural economy of the oil-rich Niger Delta region by harnessing the potential of agriculture to create income-generating activities for 25,500 rural young people, women-headed households, and people with disabilities (incubatees). Incubatees are mentored by established private-sector incubators along key agricultural value chains. |
| Size: | 19.59 MB; 6720 x 4480 pixels; 569 x 379 mm (print at 300 DPI); 1778 x 1185 mm (screen at 96 DPI); |
| Show more details: | Andrew Esiebo |
| Copyright: | ©IFAD/Andrew Esiebo |
| Categories: | New from West and Central Africa |
| URL: | www.ifad.org |
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