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IFAD LIFE-ND TO ENGAGE OVER 1,000 YOUTHS, WOMEN IN 2026 INCUBATEE PROGRAMME
The Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises in the Niger Delta, IFAD LIFE-ND project in Ondo State, has commenced the recruitment and screening of prospective applicants known as _incubatees_ for the 2026 programme year.
Speaking while supervising the exercise in Ogbese and Bolorunduro communities in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, the State Project Coordinator, *Dr. Olawale Ademola*, said this year’s enrollment into the IFAD LIFE-ND scheme recorded massive applications from prospective individuals across various centres in *100 communities* in the *10* local government mandate areas.
According to him, the project received *1,000 applications*. A team from the National Project Coordinating Office in Port Harcourt and the State Project Coordinating Office in Akure was on ground for the screening and selection of qualified young men and women who are passionate about agriculture.
Dr. Ademola stressed that the project is sponsored by the Federal Government of Nigeria, IFAD, NDDC, and the nine states in the Niger Delta region to tackle unemployment and food insecurity in the Niger Delta.
The State Project Coordinator added that the goal is to transform the rural economy of the Niger Delta by creating jobs and wealth through agriculture. This will be achieved by empowering unemployed/underemployed youths *aged 18-35* and women-headed households.
He further explained that *no fewer than 10,000 beneficiaries* have been supported and empowered in the state since the commencement of the project. He noted that more youths, women, and persons with disabilities would be engaged and supported by the IFAD LIFE-ND project.
Also speaking, the National Project Coordinator, *Engr. Dr. Abiodun Sani*, represented by the National Marketing and Enterprise Development Specialist, *Mr. Yinka Amosun*, said the exercise is going on simultaneously across the *9* Niger Delta states to select interested applicants for this year’s training and employment programme.
Engr. Sani noted that successful applicants will be trained in agribusiness and entrepreneurship along key value chains including *cassava, poultry, aquaculture, and cocoa*, among others.
They will operate under the Incubator/Incubatee model, where experienced agri-entrepreneurs, _“incubators”_, will mentor new _“incubatees”_ for *3 months*. Afterward, they will receive inputs, funding, and market linkages to start their own enterprises.
Some of the applicants who spoke to journalists expressed happiness over the exercise. *Mrs. Gbadega Olubunmi* and *Mr. Ayodeji Ajayi* said they heard about the programme on radio stations and saw posters in strategic locations in the community. They came to the centre for screening and expressed hope of being selected as incubatees.
They commended the intervention programme for reaching people at the grassroots and promised to abide by the terms and conditions of the project if selected as beneficiaries.
According to a statement signed by the Head of Media and Publicity in the Ministry, Sola Omoboyowa, applicants were documented both manually and digitally during the on-site screening to ensure proper selection and record-keeping of potential incubatees.
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