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The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) says the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises for Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) project has rehabilitated 42 kilometres of farm access roads under its Additional Financing phase, as part of efforts to strengthen rural enterprises, food production and livelihoods.

IFAD Country Director, Mrs Dede Ekoue, disclosed this on Wednesday at the inception workshop of the 6th Federal Government, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and IFAD Joint Supervision Mission of LIFE-ND in Abuja.

She said the project had also developed 254 hectares of agricultural land, rehabilitated 15 solar-powered water supply schemes and completed 20 market, production and processing facilities.

The project planted 3,508 agroforestry and economic trees during the reporting period and expanded its digital extension services, with more than 9,600 users accessing AI-powered agricultural advisory through FarmerChat.

Ekoue said weekly climate and nutrition messages were also being delivered to beneficiaries through SMS to improve access to timely agricultural and nutrition information.

According to her, LIFE-ND reached 27,222 beneficiaries as of August under its Additional Financing phase, comprising 10,094 regular incubatees and 17,128 business development services beneficiaries.

She added that the first phase of the project exceeded its target, supporting 26,470 incubatees against the planned 25,500. In 2026 alone, 6,120 new incubatees were selected and onboarded across the six IFAD-financed states, with strong participation from women, young people, female-headed households and persons with disabilities.

Ekoue said LIFE-ND had reached 16,539 beneficiary households in 2025, representing more than 90 per cent of its annual target. The project also supported 966 incubators and created 23,751 new enterprises, highlighting its potential to drive youth employment and rural enterprise development.

She said the project had strengthened its support across agricultural production, processing, marketing, financial inclusion, nutrition, climate resilience and digital advisory services.

“The project has demonstrated that rural young people, when provided with the right skills, productive assets, finance, markets, technology and partnerships, can build viable enterprises,” she said.

For the next implementation period, IFAD identified six priorities, including accelerating targets for 13,050 new incubatees and 51,775 beneficiaries, improving the release of counterpart funds, expanding access to affordable finance and insurance, and strengthening market linkages.

Ekoue also called for stronger off-taker arrangements and increased use of digital extension, climate information, nutrition-sensitive agriculture and market intelligence.

She said the 6th Supervision Mission would assess implementation progress, identify bottlenecks and document innovations and best practices that could be scaled up as the government and IFAD consider a possible second phase of LIFE-ND.

The IFAD country director stressed that the project’s success should ultimately be measured by whether supported enterprises become profitable and sustainable, young people secure decent livelihoods and women gain greater control over productive resources and economic opportunities.

She urged stronger partnerships between LIFE-ND agripreneurs, financial institutions, insurers, digital service providers, private-sector actors and producer organisations to ensure that the project’s gains translate into lasting economic opportunities across the Niger Delta.