Foundation for Partner-ship Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), a non-profit organisation, has spent more than $190 million in stimulating economic development and peace-building in the region since 2010.
Its Deputy Executive Director, Mr Tunji Idowu, made this known while answering questions from reporters at the “CAPABLE Training of regional and national media professionals’’, organised by PIND in Egbokodo-Itsekiri, Warri, Delta.
The training, according to the foundation, aimed to evolve strategies for addressing deep-rooted socio-economic problems in the Niger Delta by growing networks of international and local partners to collaborate in developing and implementing new solutions and reducing dependence on oil in the region.
He explained that PIND was largely funded by Chevron Corporation to build partnerships and equitable economic development in the region, expended $90 million and leveraged over $100 million from donor agencies.
Chevron, Idowu said, spent $50 million from 2010 to 2014 in the first phase, and $40 million to be expended in the second phase from 2015 to 2019.
According to him, more than $100 million are from organisations such as UNICEF, Rotary and others.
Idowu explained that the donors’ funds were spent specifically on projects the people of the region wanted the Foundation to implement in an effort to achieve sustainable peace and economic development of the oil-rich region.
He said the Foundation achieved a lot through partnerships in agriculture, agro processing, market system approach and peace building.
He also called on government at all levels to be alive to their responsibilities, especially in security to complement development agencies’ efforts.
Earlier, PIND’s Senior Market Development Advisor, Misan Edema-Sillo, explained that the key component of the market system approach was dynamism, noting that for every service, there was demand and supply, and the Foundation had built partnership in palm oil, cassava, aquaculture, cocoa and business linkages.
Edema-Sillo said about 14, 847 cassava farmers in the Niger Delta benefitted from PIND partnership with input companies and agro dealers, which created 403 jobs in the region.
He said five fabricators were trained on the new technology of palm oil processing and equipment and the beneficiaries had been producing the equipment, which had led to increased oil processing.
According to him, PIND is focusing on agro production and market identification in order to meet local demand.
http://thenationonlineng.net/foundation-spends-over-190m-on-economic-development/