| ID: | 82645 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Nigeria |
| Title: | Nigeria - Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises, Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) – November 2023 |
| Description: |
Femi Olofingbasote, 32, at his cocoa farm in Idanre, Ondo State, southernwestern Nigeria. Femi Olofingbasote is 32 years old and is married with two children. He learned traditional cocoa farming from his father and produces cocoa in the Alade community in Ondo State, southwestern Nigeria. Ondo State is a major cocoa-growing region where LIFE-ND is helping young farmers use good agricultural practices to increase cocoa production and improve bean quality. Femi, who became an incubatee in October 2020. He underwent rigorous training focusing on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) tailored for cocoa farming. Techniques like tree pruning, the box method of cocoa fermentation, intercropping, and advanced seed drying were part of this comprehensive training. He has succeeded in doubling his annual crop yield from 500kg to an impressive 1000kg annually. This increase not only boosted his income but also vastly improved his and his household's quality of life. Femi supplements his annual income, which has quadrupled since graduating from the programme, by intercropping his cocoa plantation with plantains and oil palm, which provide a shady canopy as well as a cash crop. He also grows about 6,000 cocoa seedlings in his nursery each year that he sells to other farmers and uses to renew his plantation. Hardly able to put food on his family’s table before, Femi is now food secure. As a part of his training, he learned about good nutrition and the importance of eating a balanced diet, and how to cultivate vegetables. He uses some of what he grows at home, selling the surplus. Femi is now a LIFE-ND incubator, sharing with incubatees his own knowledge and all he learned from his own incubator. He proudly gifts each of his graduates 100 cocoa seedlings for starting their own farms. Expressing immense gratitude, Femi highlighted, “Joining this project transformed my financial situation. I now employ workers and turn a profit. IFAD's impact is immense. I used to work for pay; now I'm an employer.” He added, "My life has seen substantial changes. I've accumulated assets, acquired a motorcycle, and plan to buy another for my workers. Soon, the farm will be mine permanently. The investments I'm making today will yield substantial returns in the future.” 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: | 21.18 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 |
Loading...
Loading...