As a means of providing means of livelihood to host communities impacted by the construction of the 54 kilometres of gas pipeline to the Fertiliser plant, Dangote Fertiliser limited (DFL) has embarked on a programme to empower 150 Project Affected Persons(PAPs) through a cassava enterprises programme.
The programme was geared towards mitigating the negative impact of the land acquired for the pipeline construction, while also supporting impacted farmers to improve farming practices in other to increase yield and income.
The programme, which is being implemented by an external consultants, HarvestPlus, in conjunction with the DFL Social team, involves capacity building for farmers and potential entrepreneurs for by- products of cassava and cassava stems cells.
Consequently, agro enterprise was set up for the beneficiaries where improved cassava stem bundles were delivered to farmers for planting and weed control task force were set up as well as the establishment of cassava combobite chips processors.
The company’s host communities comprises of five Local Government and Local Council Development Areas (LCDA), which includes, Ibeju Lekki, Lekki LCDA, Epe, Eredo and Ikosi.
It would be recalled that in 2019, Dangote started the installation of the gas pipeline along Epe axis, to transport gas to its fertiliser plant.
The pipeline Right of Way (RoW) impacted some communities, along with farmers whose farmlands and crops were affected. Lagos State Government in collaboration with DFL undertook the land acquisition process after which compensation was paid.
Speaking at a ceremony where cassava stems, combobite processing equipment and weed control equipment were donated to the beneficiaries, the General Manager, Human Asset Management, Dangote Fertiliser Limited, Mr. Akin Oladiran, stated that the company in partnership with Harvest Plus is working towards enhancing food availability across the communities.
“Food is very important for survival. We understand some persons have been impacted as a result of the installation of the pipeline, but we want to ensure these impacts are addressed quickly. “We want to eliminate the impact completely. We are also using this programme to further support the means of livelihood of Project Affected Persons.
“We are ensuring food sufficiency as well as creating wealth for every individual in the community.”
Speaking further, he noted that the company is currently working on increasing the yields of farmers through the utilisation of fertiliser.
“If the soil yield is 80 per cent, we are assuring you that before the next one month, we are going to bring a product that will increase the soil yield to 100 percent.
“The factory is at an advanced stage and we going into the production stage of our fertilizer.”