… Trainees welcome approach
A team has arrived Akwa Ibom State on inspection of the model incubation system of agricultural implementation for a planned agric revolution in the Niger Delta.
The project is by the Federal Government, the International Food & Agricultural Development (IFAD) with the implementation agency, the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises Project in the Niger Delta (LIFE-ND), and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) simply dubbed the FG/IFAD/NDDC scheme.
The project began over six years ago but three states, Rivers, Imo, and Akwa Ibom did not start because the NDDC then that was to support their own funding with $30m failed until the coming of the Samuel Ogbuku-led management which reaffirmed commitment to it and has so far released $5m to the scheme.
The NDDC and IFAD have also insisted on regular inspection to ensure the prompt delivery on timelines.
The regular inspections are to ascertain how well the incubators/incubatees are doing at the centres, find out their challenges and capture good practices for upscaling in the course of the incubatees passing through the incubators’ tutelage.
This was after the process of sensitization, profiling and selection targeted at meeting the set goal of 4,250 beneficiaries in each of the states of Akwa Ibom, Imo and Rivers over the six-year implementation window for the first phase. The identified beneficiaries are profiled and prospective incubatees and incubators are selected.
For Akwa Ibom State, the commodities of focus are Cassava, Oil Palm, Poultry and Aquaculture and they are said to be all implemented along the agricultural value chain of production, processing and marketing.
The inspection team which has landed Akwa Ibom State found the incubators and incubatees happy. They expressed satisfaction with the model which they noted is driving agricultural revolution in the state.
Under the model, the incubators are hired to train the incubatees in various aspects of fish and poultry production over a period of time to enable them acquire the requisite knowledge to be self-sustainable.
Speaking during an inspection visit by officials of the NDDC and Life-ND to select farms in Essien Udim Local Government Area on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, the manager of Eteyit Farms, Bassey Eteyit, described the model as laudable and sustainable
Eteyit who is the immediate past councilor of the ward said he initially thought the project was a scam, adding that a lot of people have been coming to inspect the farm and at the end nothing tangible was realized.
He said, “A team came for inspection some time ago and that is how I got to know about this project. I didn’t take them seriously because a lot of people have been coming and at the end nothing comes out. What I decided to do was to prevent anybody from using the place to go and make money.
“But when the team came, they told me of the project that was coming up and after some time I received a call that certain people would be sent to me for training and when the time came a list of 10 incubatees was sent to me. We had orientation and after the orientation we started. As they are now, they have fair knowledge of fish production and can process fish for marketing.
”It is a project that I believe is quite laudable and sustainable,” he said.
One of the Incubatees, Utibe Monday Alexander, said he has learned a lot from the programme.
Alexander, who spoke through an interpreter, said he did not know anything about fish farming initially, adding that with the knowledge acquired he is able to produce and even process it for marketing.
According to him, “This project has helped a lot and I want to thank the sponsors of the project and I advise them to sustain it. I came here with no knowledge and anything but I now know how to rear fish and even process for marketing.”
Also, Ekaette Offum said the greatest incentive from the project is the payment of stipends to sustain the trainees. She added that she has acquired enough knowledge and if given the opportunity she is ready to train others.
Speaking at Bajims Farms also in Essien Udim LGA, one of the trainees, Rose Alex, expressed appreciation to God and sponsors of the project and called on them to sustain the project.
Some of the trainees called on the sponsors to make the payments quicker at the expected time.
Earlier, in his address, the team leader, Chikezie Munachiso, the Assistant Director of Agriculture and Fisheries at NDDC in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, explained that the visit was undertaken to assess the progress and to see how the incubators and the incubatees were faring.
“We are here on routine checks to know what you people are doing and how you are performing and to listen to your challenges and recommendations,” Munachiso said.
The inspection would continue for three more days in the three states.
