Officials of the World Bank, the Federal Government and the National Coordinating Office of the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) Project have engaged project staff in Ondo, Ekiti and Edo states on the level of project implementation in their respective states.
In a statement issued by the Project Communication/ICT Officer of the Ondo L-PRES Project, Mr. Augustine Adeoye, the five-day event, which took place in Akure, was tagged the Mid-Term Review MTR, Mission, a pivotal monitoring and evaluation activity of the World Bank aimed at ensuring successful project implementation across the country.
Engaging the team, the World Bank Procurement Specialist, Engr AbdulGarfar Tijani, explained that the exercise was important for reviewing the states’ activities ahead of the project’s MTR, which would immediately follow the mission exercise in Lagos.
He pointed out that the states must report their financial status, challenges, recommendations and achievements, all of which must align with the project’s objectives and key performance indicators as spelt out in the project manuals.
Tijani said that the project has reached a critical stage where reports from every implementing state are carefully assessed to determine performance and define the future of the project.
Tijani, with other team members who examined each state’s reports as presented by their monitoring and evaluation officers and supported by their State Project Coordinators, provided constructive criticism for better presentation and acceptability.
He appreciated the states for their implementation of the L-PRES Project, while highlighting delays caused by additional multiple layers of approval, which could lead to sanctions such as the reallocation of funds to other states.
In their separate reports, the Ondo, Ekiti and Edo States L-PRES Projects enumerated various capacity-building initiatives for farmers, the distribution of motorcycles to extension agents and the construction of veterinary hospitals, livestock markets and artificial insemination centres as key projects carried out in their respective states.
Other achievements highlighted included the distribution of fodder choppers to cluster farmers, vaccination of livestock against anthrax, CBPP, FMD and Newcastle disease, as well as the reporting and resolution of farmer–herder crises, among others.
A key activity during the mission was visits to selected project sites in the host state for first-hand information, review and guidance.
Locations visited included an ongoing Artificial Insemination Centre, a cold chain facility for vaccine storage, provision of a 50,000-litre water point for Adofure and Oyemekun pig farmer clusters, and also the provision of a 200 kVA generator and 40 kVA solar facility to power equipment at a semi-mechanised abattoir – all in Akure, the state capital.
Meanwhile, the Ondo State Government has reiterated its commitment to the smooth implementation of the L-PRES Project in the state.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Engr ‘Leye Akinola, gave the assurance when the MTR mission team paid a courtesy visit to his office in Akure.
The commissioner explained that livestock development is central to the Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa-led administration in the state, as encapsulated in his ‘OUR EASE’ Agenda.
He stressed that the state is making efforts to introduce a ranching system for an estimated five million cattle in order to address insecurity challenges.
Appreciating President Bola Tinubu for initiating the L-PRES Project, he sought the collaboration of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development to actualise plans for livestock development.
The commissioner promised that the state would address minor impediments to the smooth implementation of the project and would continue to utilise project funds judiciously for desirable results.
Participants in the mission included World Bank Operations Analyst, Mr Babajide Akanji; Monitoring and Evaluation Analyst, Dr Ayo Fashogbon; L-PRES National Value Chains Specialist, Princess Ronke Healther-Akanni; L-PRES National Procurement Specialist, Mr Kunle Adeoye; L-PRES National Animal Husbandry Officer II, Ijeoma Nzekwe and representatives of the Development Bank of Nigeria, DBN, Christian Nwuzor and Oluwafemi Ola.
Others were representative of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Dr Ijeoma Ochoewu; a representative of the Ondo State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mrs Oluwatoyin Ige; L-PRES, Edo Coordinator, Mrs Betsy Ikpikhimi; M&E officer, Engr Idahor Osagie; Ekiti L-PRES Coordinator, Mr Adedipe Olayinka and M&E Officer, Mr Odewale Opeyemi.
Also included was the Ondo L-PRES Coordinator, Mr Olufemi Adeogun, and M&E Officer, Princess Mojibola Shaba, including other members of the Ondo L-PRES Project Implementation Unit, PIU.