By Emem Idio, Yenagoa

THE Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprise in the Niger Delta, LIFE-ND, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, have provided farm inputs palliative to Bayelsa farmers and incubatees affected by the recent devastating flood.

The intervention is part of LIFE-ND and IFAD, support for farmers in nine States of the federation to cushion the effect of the devastated floods that effected parts the country.

LIFE-ND project is a rural based agric-enterprise development organisation, funded by the federal government and assisted by the iInternational Fund for Agriculture Development, IFAD, the Bayelsa State government and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

The items distributed includes,100 cartons of agro chemicals, 7,500 plantain suckers, 700 bundles of cassava stem, and 100 cartons of day old chicks.

Others are 360 bags of poultry feeds, 360, bags of fish feeds of different ranges, 2000 assorted edible tree crops, 270 bags of NPK Fertilizer, 350 packs assorted vegetable seedlings and economic trees.

Speaking during the flag off ceremony held at the School to Land premises in Yenagoa, on Saturday, the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Prince David Alagoa, expressed profound gratitude to LIFE-ND and its partners for the support to farmers.

He described the gesture as a demonstration of LIFE-ND and IFAD’s interest in the development of agriculture in Bayelsa state, and pointed out that the state experienced the most castatrophic flood in recent times which led to loss of crops and fishing farms as well as poultry and other farms.

He added that the intervention is timely as it would in the short, medium and long time cushion the loss suffered by farmers during the floods.

He said: “Let me thank IFAD and the LIFEND programme for what they are doing in the state today. Clearly it suggests that they have interest in the development of agriculture in the state.

“We all experienced perhaps the most castatrophic flood that we ever had Bayelsa indeed was the worst of all flooding. As we speak now anybody who comes with an intervention programme clearly suggest that they take the state at heart and what they brought we receive them with great thanks.

“The flag off is on agro inputs because LIFE-ND and IF ADAM collaboration is on agriculture and so with the state government, we have come together to give palliatives to Bayelsa farmers and incubatees who are affected.

“So you can see there is cassava stems, plantain suckers, day old chics economic trees and fish feeds and these are the areas they were trained by LIFE-ND and IFAD through the state government.

“They have even gone beyond that to give us economic trees, assorted seeds, fertilizers and so we are very happy with what IFAD has done in the state.”

In his remarks, the State Project Coordinator, Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises Project for the Niger Delta ,LIFE-ND, Dr. Panebi Ugo, commended the state government’s developmental strides particularly in the agricultural sector and pledged the committment of IFAD/LIFE-ND in the realisation of the objectives of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Ugo, said that the distribution of agro inputs to flood impacted farmers and LIFE ND incubatees was part of IFAD intervention to mitigate loss suffered by farmers during the floods, noting that it is way for IFAD to identify with the farmers and LIFE ND incubatees at the trying times of the devastating flood.

A farmer and beneficiary, Mrs Evelyn Peremoboere commeded LIFE-ND and IFAD for the palliatives, saying that the support from will enable them start up their farm business.