Thousands of women and youths from the Niger Delta region have started benefitting from the $60 million Federal Government/International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) assisted project.

Some of the beneficiaries who gave their testimonies during interactive sessions with the media in Port Harcourt, at the weekend, thanked those behind the multimillion-dollar project which gave them job opportunities.

The National Coordinator of the project tagged: FGN/NDDC/IFAD Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises – Niger Delta (LIFE-ND), Engineer Abiodun Sanni, at a media roundtable in Port Harcourt which had some of the beneficiaries in attendance, said the initiative was a game changer as many graduates who could not get jobs are now employers.

Sanni said that the project which commenced in December 2019 covers nine oil producing states under the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The states include Abia, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross-River, Akwa-Ibom, Edo, Delta, Ondo and Imo.

The federal government and governments of the affected states are to contribute $4.91m and $3.76m respectively.

“Additionally, a total of 6,964 incubators and incubates including women, youths and the vulnerable people trained on various topics in agricultural entrepreneurship and good agricultural practices covering the business cycle of the beneficiary’s business of choice,” Sanni said.