APPEALS Project assures of commitment to capacity as facilitator’s training workshop opens in Port Harcourt

The Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support Project (APPEALS) has opening it’s training workshop for the project facilitators aimed at enhancing better understanding of the project’s objectives.

The facilitators training workshop held in Port-Harcourt the River State capital seeks to expose facilitators to understanding of the project strategy and component, roles and responsibilities of each facilitators under the project, Build capacities of facilitators on group formation, management and dynamics under the project.

It also seeks to familiarize facilitators with the format for formulation of Value Chain Investment Plan (VCIP), Enhance understanding of the procedure for the formulation of the VCIP, Exposed potential project beneficiaries to project opportunities and eligibility criteria, amongst others.

In his opening remarks, the National Project Coordinator, Mr. Mohammed Sani Jordi while reeling out the target and focus of the APPEALS project, said it is a 6-year project designed in line with the Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP) of the Federal Government.

“It intends to build on the legacy of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), and plans to support policy trusts on food security, local production, job creation and economic diversification. The project is targeting 60,000 individuals as direct beneficiaries ie. 10,000 beneficiaries per state and 300,000 farm household members as indirect beneficiaries”

He noted that the project anticipates that 35 percent of direct beneficiaries (or 21,000 individuals) will be women and youth.

Mr Jordi urged stakeholders in agriculture and the facilitators of the project to take full advantage of the workshop to move agriculture forward in the country.

The project which is being implemented in six states with their respective
value chains includes:
Cross River – Rice, Cocoa, Poultry
Enugu – Rice, Cashew, Poultry
Kaduna – Maize, Ginger, Dairy
Kano – Rice, Wheat, Tomato
Kogi – Cassava, Cashew, Rice
Lagos – Rice.

A total of 277 VCIPs have been prepared, reviewed and approved for
implementation by the beneficiaries.

The APPEALS Project is a World Bank Project which has eleven commodity value chains which include Rice, Cocoa, Poultry, Cashew, Maize, Ginger, Diary, Wheat, Tomato, Cassava and Aquaculture and it’s being implemented in six states of Cross River, Kano, Kaduna, Enugu, Lagos and Kogi.