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.

While some of the trainees, known as incubatees, have learned poultry farming, others have started making fortunes from cash crops even as many of them have already become employers of labour.

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.

He said while IFAD is funding the project in Abia, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Ondo to the tune of $60m, the NDDC is expected to fund the three states of Akwa Ibom, Imo and Rivers with $30m.

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

He said by December 31, 2022, LIFE-ND had supported over 700 incubators and facilitated the establishment of 5,194 women and youths incubatees enterprises.

"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.