The Federal Government, in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Ondo State Government, is set to empower 14,800 youths in agricultural production under the IFAD/FG Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprise-Niger Delta Project.
The programme is expected to be implemented in 100 communities across the 10 local government areas of Ondo State. Beneficiaries, also referred to as incubatees, will receive training and support in cocoa, cassava, fishery, and poultry production to improve livelihoods and expand youth participation in agriculture.
The Ondo State Project Coordinator of the programme, Mr Olawale Ademola, disclosed this during a roundtable meeting with media practitioners held in Akure, the state capital, on Thursday.
According to Ademola, the first phase of the project ended in April 2025, but the development partner approved an extension through what he described as additional financing, following the successful implementation of the programme in the state.
He recalled that no fewer than 4,182 incubatees were trained and empowered during the first phase of the project.
Ademola listed the local governments where the programme will take place as Akure North, Ondo East, Ile-Oluji/Oke Igbo, and Akoko South-West. Others include Owo, Irele, Ilaje, Idanre, Ese-Odo, and Akoko North-West.
He said, “The project has had a significant impact on the youths in the state. Because of this, it has been extended for another three years. This is additional financing. It was supposed to start last year, but we could not, so we now have an additional three years.
“In the next three years, we are targeting 14,800 youths as beneficiaries: 5,800 as regular incubatees and 9,000 for business development services.
“IFAD has done a lot in Nigeria, in collaboration with the Federal Government and the State Government. It is funding the project in six states of the Niger Delta—Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Abia, and Cross River.
“In the first phase of the project, 4,182 youths were trained in four major aspects of agriculture: cocoa, fishery, cassava, and poultry production, across 100 communities in 10 local governments.”
However, Ademola noted that the project is facing challenges, including insecurity, insincerity among some beneficiaries, inflation, and low levels of literacy. He added that measures have been put in place to address these challenges.
In his remarks, the state Agribusiness Promotion Officer, Mr Bodunwa Isaiah, said the objectives of the project include food sufficiency, youth employment generation, and revenue generation.
Also speaking, the State Rural Institute Gender and Youth Officer, Mrs Bolanle Akinyede, said the incubation training model involves trainers and trainees, stressing that the project targets youths with passion and interest in agriculture.
“We make sure that beneficiaries have interest and passion in agriculture because we see agriculture as a business,” she stated in Nigeria.
