Business
IFAD Appeals To N’ Delta Govs Over Funding
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-assisted Community-Based Natural Resource Management Programme (CBNRMP) has appealed to governors of the nine Niger Delta states to pay their counterpart funds promptly to enable the programme achieve its goal.
Mrs. Irene Jumbo-Ibeakuzie, the national programme coordinator, made the appeal in an interview with in Libreville on Sunday.
Jumbo-Ibeakuzie said that the non-payment of counterpart funds by some of the states was jeopardising the effective implementation of the programme.
The affected states are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.
She urged, particularly, state governments which had invested in huge agricultural projects, to partner with the programme to ensure that the projects produced maximum results.
Jumbo-Ibeakuzie cited the Songhai Centre established by the Rivers State Government as one project that should be used as a springboard to alleviate poverty in communities in the state, in partnership with the CBNRMP.
“The Songhai farm in Rivers State, for example, is a programme like ours that they can use to step it down to the rural communities and to the rural farmers, who are well known to us and at a very cheap cost to them.
“You can have a large programme but if you are not able to step it down, the dividend of that project would not be fully realised.
“So, we appeal to them to pay their counterpart funds to enable us to create wealth and impact on the livelihoods of farmers.’’
The coordinator said that the programme was promoting agriculture as a business venture rather than for subsistence, stressing that the era of subsistence farming was over.
According to her, the payment of counterpart funds would enable the programme to access IFAD funds to be able to implement projects that would create wealth, reduce unemployment and crime as well as stem rural urban migration.
Furthermore, she said that it would assist in empowering women to engage in economic activities that would enhance nation building.
“We are preaching business agriculture in which there is profitability; we want to create wealth through agriculture.
“We want to create employment through agriculture and if they pay their counterpart fund, it will reduce the unemployment rate in the rural area; it will stem rural-urban migration and there will be food basket.
Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.
Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.
The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.
Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.
“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.
“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”
Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.
In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.
Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.
Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.
